New Delhi/Mumbai, Jan.10 (ANI): India's fuel crisis blew over on Friday, but commuters in New Delhi continued to grapple with short fuel supply even on Saturday.
Commuters ran from one petrol pump to the other in search of fuel as many of the pumps had run dry after the three-day strike.
"The strike has ended but we are not able to get petrol or diesel anywhere. I've checked two three petrol pumps but have not been able to get any fuel," said Kapil, a commuter.
A few filling stations were found functioning normally, meeting the commuters' demand for fuel.
"First two days we faced many problems, but now things are okay. Except for some petrol pumps, there is fuel in petrol pumps, all the HP outlets are functioning normally," said Ravinder Arora, another commuter.
The government has already declared the strike as illegal. The strike was called off after the government called in troops to load tankers and threatened to imprison union leaders.
The government had invoked laws forbidding the obstruction of essential commodities.
In Mumbai, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora said today that the Centre is considering a proposal to reduce petrol prices by a further five rupees, while the price of diesel could go down by rupees three. He also said that the price of an LPG cylinder could go down by rupees 25.
"We have talked to Prime Minister, in coming days we are trying to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG...give us 10-15 days," Deora told reporters.
"According to me the advisable reduction would be Rs 5 per litre for petrol, Rs 3 per litre for diesel and Rs 25 on LPG cylinder," he said when asked about the extent of reduction in prices.
Oil companies have minimized the losses on petrol and diesel, as crude oil prices have lowered to 40 dollars per barrel from its peak of 147 dollars a barrel in July last year.
"From this quarter onwards, we expect the oil marketing companies to start making profits. But, if the crude oil price rises beyond 40 dollar per barrel, then it (profit) will not happen," Deora added.
When asked about a reduction in kerosene prices, he said it is already available at the cheapest rate in India of Rs 9 per litre.
On December 6, the Government had reduced prices of petrol and diesel by Rs five and Rs two per litre, respectively, as global crude prices hovered around a four year low. (ANI)
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