A look at fuel price hike in Chennai and how people are reacting to it – Times Now

Chennai: The spike in fuel prices in India has become a cause of concern for the citizens. The rate of one litre of petrol on Monday, February 22, after the increase has been Rs 92.59 while the same quantity of diesel costs Rs 85.98 in the city. The increase in fuel prices has been drastic, certainly so when compared to last year. On February 22, 2020, the price of petrol in Chennai was Rs 74.73 per litre while diesel was priced at Rs 68.27 for one litre. 
 
Reactions of citizens started pouring on social media after the rise in fuel prices. Novelist K. Hari Kumar who goes by the name of  K Horror Kumar on Twitter mentioned both the onion and petrol price and joked that he would have to find a way to turn onion peels into petrol. One of the top horror writers in India, Hari said that as he is a millennial, he would find some ‘jugaad.’
 

 
Columnist and writer Sreedhar Pillai also tweeted the prices of petrol and diesel in Chennai city and used the hashtag ‘fuel on fire’ to convey his concern. 
 

 
Another Twitter user also shared a video on the fuel hike. He said people of the state are suffering due to the increase in the price of gas, petrol and diesel. 
 
According to Statista, there were five million vehicles in the city of Chennai at the end of 2017. By February 2021, the number is expected to have increased further. 
 
In February 2020, a person could spend Rs 74.73 to buy one litre of petrol in order to travel 18 kilometres in a car that had a mileage of 18km/litre. However, today, in order to travel the same distance, the consumer of petrol will be spending Rs 92.59. Within one year, this person has to spend around Rs 18 more to travel the same distance using the same vehicle. 
 
Speaking about the rise in petrol and diesel prices, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Minister, has said that a reduction in production by the international market is responsible for the price hike.