In a decision that has set the nation ablaze with discontent, the government has raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, thrusting fuel prices into a fiery new stratosphere. This audacious hike, unveiled with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, has transformed every gas station into a battleground of budgets and bitterness. For a country where fuel powers not just engines but the very rhythm of life—from roaring trucks to humming tractors—this increase is no mere footnote; it’s a thunderclap reverberating through homes, farms, and highways.
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The Price of Mobility
The numbers tell a punishing story. For the daily commuter on a scooter, a 15-litre fill-up now costs Rs 30 more—a sting that bites deeper with every ride to work. Car owners fare worse: a 50-litre tank demands an extra Rs 100, ballooning monthly expenses by hundreds for those tethered to the road. But the real carnage unfolds beyond urban streets. Truck drivers hauling goods across states and farmers irrigating fields with diesel-powered pumps face a grim reckoning—margins shaved to the bone or losses too steep to bear.
Consider Sunita Rani, a vegetable vendor who ferries her wares on a rickety scooter. “I was scraping by,” she says, clutching a crumpled receipt at the pump. “Now, Rs 2 more per litre means fewer trips or higher prices—and my customers won’t pay extra for tomatoes.” In rural hamlets, farmer Mohan Lal shares her despair. “Diesel runs my life—my tractor, my water pump. This hike? It’s like taxing the rain I can’t afford to wait for.”
The Logic of the Levy
Why this sudden jolt? The government frames it as a fiscal lifeline. With global crude oil prices seesawing and revenue coffers parched, the Rs 2 excise duty hike is a calculated grab at stability. Unlike volatile market rates, excise duty is a tax squarely in the state’s grip, channeling funds into roads, schools, and subsidies. A ministry insider, speaking anonymously, defended the move: “Fuel taxes are a reliable anchor when economic winds shift. This isn’t greed—it’s necessity.”
Yet, this explanation lands like a spark on dry grass. With inflation already gnawing at wallets, the timing feels like a cruel twist. Petrol and diesel aren’t just commodities—they’re the arteries of an economy, pumping life into transport, agriculture, and industry. A Rs 2 hike doesn’t stop at the nozzle; it seeps into the cost of bread, bus fares, and bricks, threatening a cascade of price spikes that could choke an already breathless populace.
A Country Ignites
The backlash has been swift and scorching. Social media is a furnace of fury—“Rs 2 more per litre? Time to trade my car for a donkey!” one post blazed. Streets are simmering, too, with taxi unions rallying, truckers mulling strikes, and farmers blocking roads in protest. India’s history of fuel-price rebellions casts a long shadow, and this hike could be the ember that flares into something larger.
Economists predict a grim ripple: transport costs climbing, goods growing pricier, inflation rearing its head. A few voices, like eco-activist Priya Menon, see a faint silver lining: “Higher fuel costs could nudge us toward electric bikes or buses. But without cheap, widespread options, that’s a mirage.” For most, the reality is stark—no greener pastures, just a steeper bill.
Grit in the Tank
Resilience, though, is India’s fuel of last resort. Urbanites are carpooling or pedaling; villagers are hitching rides or reviving bullocks. Yet, beneath the grit lies a question pulsing louder with every pump: how much more can a nation endure? This Rs 2 excise duty hike isn’t just a tax—it’s a litmus test of patience, a flare illuminating the fragile line between survival and surrender on a road growing costlier by the litre
–By Manoj H
