Costlier fuel pushes up transport, food prices

Patna: Rising global crude oil prices amid continued tensions in West Asia and disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to affect household budgets in Patna. Petrol is currently priced at Rs 113.77 per litre, diesel at Rs 99.36 and a domestic LPG cylinder at Rs 1,002.50.

The increase in fuel prices has pushed up transport costs and led to higher prices of essential commodities. Vegetable prices in local mandis have risen by 20%-25%, while pulses and cooking oil have also become more expensive.

Tomatoes, for instance, now cost around Rs 40 per kg compared to Rs 30-35 earlier. Traders say vegetables transported from outside Bihar have become costlier because of higher fuel expenses.

Raj Kumar Jha, general secretary of the All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation, said taxes account for a large share of fuel prices. “The middle class is being made to pay for post-election spending,” he said.

He added that grocery prices had already increased by 20-25% and warned that transport operators could face difficulties if fares were not revised in line with rising costs.

The impact is also being felt in households. Poonam Kumari, a homemaker from Rupaspur, said her monthly grocery bill had gone up by 20-25%. She now plans meals in advance, soaks lentils overnight to save cooking gas and reduces unnecessary travel.

“Whatever I used to save, it all goes into daily expenses now,” she said.

Another resident, Nidhi Kanchan of Kankarbagh, said she had to wait 10-12 days for her last LPG cylinder refill and had started using less cooking oil to make household supplies last longer.

While authorities maintain there is no shortage of LPG and attribute the rise in bookings to panic buying, many families say the increasing cost of fuel and essential goods is making it harder to manage household expenses.