Petroleum dealers call off stir after talks with oil firms

Petroleum dealers, who had gone on a two-day nationwide no-purchase strike since Thursday, have said they are calling off their future agitation programmes as oil companies have promised to look into their demand for hiking commission before December 31. 

Earlier, the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD) had said that it would go on a full-fledged strike on November 15 to press for their demand to increase commission. Besides, the dealers had said petrol pumps would be selling fuel for limited hours from Saturday and will not operate on Sundays or Government holidays.

However, they decided not to go ahead with these programmes after holding talks with representatives of oil companies in Mumbai.  “Our discussions with oil companies yielded results. They promised to address our issues (hike in commission) before December 31. So we are calling off our agitation programmes,” Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers  Joint Secretary Rajiv Amaram said here.

The Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers  has demanded implementation of the recommendations made by the Apoorva Chandra Committee in 2011. The committee recommended commissions of over Rs 4 for petrol and about Rs 3 for diesel per litre. The then UPA Government hiked the commission on petrol to Rs 2.15 and diesel to Rs 1.28 from Re 1 and Re 0.70, respectively.

Amaram said the dealers are supposed to get the arrears also from 2011. The dealers had stopped purchase of fresh stocks of petrol and diesel at 54,000 fuel outlets across the country from oil companies from Thursday.  

In Telangana alone, over 1,400 truckloads of petrol and diesel were not lifted on Thursday and Friday by petroleum dealers in the State.

Meanwhile, the petrol price was raised on Saturday by 89 paise per litre, the sixth increase in rates since September, and diesel by 86 paise a litre, the third increase in a month. The price hike announced by Indian Oil Corp is excluding local sales tax or VAT and will be effective from midnight Saturday-Sunday.