Should not the poor keep home fire burning?

Government decisions sometimes fall on the people like thunderbolt. There was no reason for the Centre to make an unexpected increase of twenty-five rupees on cooking gas. This is the second time in a month that ordinary people have had to endure this blow for no defenite reason. With the new price hike, the price has gone up from Rs 866 to Rs 870 per cylinder. The price has been reduced by Rs 5 per commercial cylinder. This may be due to the increase of Rs 85 per commercial cylinder last month.

The cost of a cylinder can be more than Rs 900 when the home delivery charge is added. This is an unaffordable price for ordinary families with no substantial income. In a country with planning experts who assume that a person can lead a happy life if he has twenty or thirty rupees a day, seem to have no idea on how a normal family tries to make both ends meet.
That is why the price of cooking gas, which is indispensable for a family without any notice, is often increased. It was at the instigation of the government that people, rich and poor alike, began to rely solely on gas for cooking. Those who welcomed the cooking gas by smashing even the stove are stunned by the current gas price. Ordinary people have had to bear an increase of Rs 165 over eight months. Meanwhile, the central subsidy for LPG consumers has been completely stopped. Poor families can reduce their use of cooking gas if they have firewood or something else to burn in the villages. Not so with those who live in cities. If they want to cook something, they have to rely on cooking gas.

Ordinary people are confused as to whom to approach for justice as the oil companies raise prices as often as they can and the central government is tasked with reducing the burden on the lives of the people. In the past, prices of crude oil and petroleum products have been rising in the international market. But now things are not like that. Oil companies can raise prices any time. It does not have to be associated with overseas oil markets. This arrogant move comes from the fact that the pricing power of petroleum products is vested with the oil companies. The central government, which is responsible for controlling inflation, agrees to this.

This is the time when a large section of people are suffering without income due to the Covid epidemic. Instead of providing a small amount of relief, the government should take care to avoid measures that would upset the family budget of the common man. Unfortunately no consideration is given to such needs. There is no official price increase for anything. But the market story is the opposite. The prices of all products have skyrocketed over the last few months. The parties that have completely disrupted the parliamentary session with big issues like Pegasus have nothing to say about the government's anti-people measures.