Delhi petrol pumps to shut for 24 hours starting on October 22

Fuel pumps in the national capital will remain shut for 24 hours starting Monday 6 am to press the Delhi government to lower valueadded tax VAT on the key transport fuelsThe central government as well as several state governments including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh slashed fuel prices but the Delhi government refused to cut VAT making the fuels costlier in the national capital This has caused losses ranging between 20 per cent and 30 per cent as commuters prefer to get their vehiclefuel tanks filled at a fuel station in the neighbouring cities the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association DPDA said on SundayLast month the Centre slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 250 per litre each which was followed by the reduction in VAT by many statesIn comparison to Delhi petrol in UP and Haryana is cheaper by Rs 259 and Rs 195 per litre respectively while diesel in these two states is cheaper by Rs 202 and Rs 172 per litre respectively DPDA President Singhania had told reporters earlier in the weekBecause of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to a huge drop in sales he saidAccording to Singhania the price difference has caused a sharp drop of 5060 per cent in sale of diesel and 25 per cent in petrol in Delhi during the current quarterAlmost 200 pumps out of 400 could be on the verge of shutting down leading to retrenchment of thousands of workers and affecting lakhs of people in the city he saidThe dealers body also pointed to the bigger concern about the environmentfriendly EuroVI grade fuel being currently available only in the National Capital Territory NCT and the risks of consumers choosing the cheaper dirtier fuelsEnvironmentfriendly Euro VI fuel is available only in NCT of Delhi and produces 80 per cent less emissions than Euro IV fuels There is also an apprehension of interstate smuggling of inferior Euro IV fuel in the city Singhania said adding that Delhis pollution worsens during the winter monthsThere are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked CNG pumps Both will remain closed from 6 am on October 22 to 5 am on October 23 the DPDA statement saidMeanwhile staterun oil marketing companies cut the prices of petrol and diesel for a fourth consecutive day on Sunday amid lower global crude oil pricesAccording to the IndianOil Corp data petrol price was cut by 25 paise and diesel by 17 paise Petrol was selling at Rs 8174 a litre while diesel cost Rs 7519 per litre in the national capitalCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever