Bhubaneswar: Apprehending further rise in inflation mostly due to recent hike in the price of petrol by Rs 3 per litre, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consider a roll-back in order to reduce the burden on the common man.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Patnaik pointed out this was the third hike in price of petrol in the current year by the Oil Marketing Companies, the first two being Rs 2.50 on January 18, 2011 and Rs 5 on May 17, 2011 respectively. "Thus, the net hike during the last eight months is about Rs 2 per litre which is a hike of around 20 percent," the chief minister said in the letter.
Stating that such a huge increase in price is affecting the prices in other sectors, Patnaik said as a result of which the general inflation rate, which is around 10 percent may go up further. "I would request you to kindly consider a roll-back in the increase in the price of petrol to reduce the burden of inflation on the common man," Patnaik said.
PTI