The strike called by the Meghalaya Joint Action Committee of Commercial Vehicles (MJACCV), which has left taxis and buses off the streets since February 3, continued today, with no sign of an end in sight.
Today, a petrol pump owner said that the government’s recent Rs 2 reduction in state tax is meaningless, as it is still significantly higher than the rate in April of last year, when the government carried out a sudden hike.
He informed that initially the rate of petrol was Rs 72 per litre, which went up to Rs 88 and now it is around Rs 90.
“The difference in price of petrol then and now is Rs 18 and with the recent decreases of Rs 2 per litre the rate of petrol is still hiked by Rs 16,” Samborlang Diengdoh said, adding that this is not enough to convince taxis and buses to charge the old, pre-Covid rate of passenger fares.
Diengdoh also said that as Khasi-Jaiñtia Hills does not have access to a railway, it is totally dependent on roadways for transportation, meaning that if the rate of diesel is hiked then prices of consumable goods will automatically increase.
Diengdoh also said the petrol pump owners have to pay a Covid-19 cess, but now that everything is pretty much back to normal, he urged the government to do away with it.
Meanwhile, the MJACCV held a sit-in in Malki to put pressure on the government to roll back the prices of petrol and diesel.
