Fuel price hike: Diesel set to touch `100 mark

Kolkata: With the increase in fuel prices for the 14th time in the past 20 days of October, the diesel price in Kolkata on Wednesday is just Rs 1.97 paisa short of touching the Rs 100 mark. At the same time, petrol price for the first time became Rs 106.78 a litre in the city.

The diesel price has increased by 35 paisa on Wednesday taking it to Rs 98.03 a litre. This is the first time when diesel price in the state has crossed the Rs 98 mark. The petrol price has also increased by 35 paisa on Wednesday. Prices of both petrol and diesel remained constant for the past two days at Rs 106.43 a litre and Rs 97.68 a litre respectively. Again on Sunday, the city dwellers witnessed an increase in fuel prices.

The price of diesel has already crossed Rs 100 mark in Mumbai among four metropolises and stands at Rs 94.92 a litre in Delhi and 99.26 a litre in Chennai. Petrol price is the second highest in Kolkata among all the four metropolitan cities. In Mumbai, a litre of petrol costs Rs 112.11 while it was sold at Rs 106.19 a litre and Rs 103.31 a litre in Delhi and Chennai. "No one can say when fuel prices will stabilise. If we ask petrol pump owners, they say that they have not received any assurance from the oil companies as to when the fuel prices will stabilise. Instead, some of them are saying that petrol price would become Rs 150 a litre in the next few months. The Centre is also indifferent to the issue leaving the common people in absolute darkness," said Monotosh Jha after refuelling his two-wheeler at a central Kolkata petrol pump.