AURANGABAD: The Federation of All Maharashtra Petroleum Dealers’ Association (FAMPEDA) has decided to opt for ‘No Purchase No Sale' of fuel on Tuesday (May 31).
The state has around 6,500 fuel outlets and all of them have decided to protest against the sudden cut in excise duty, due to which, the fuel stations are facing losses. The move is likely to result in fuel stations in different parts of the state running dry.
FAMPEDA president Uday Lodh told TOI, “Since 2017, not a single paisa has been increased in the commission against the sale. Secondly, due to the revision of fuel prices by the central government, the fuel stations in Maharashtra have suffered a direct loss of over Rs 300 crore.”
He said this is the second time that the fuel dealers have incurred major losses running into hundreds of crores. The first major cut in fuel prices was announced on November 4, 2021, when the petrol prices were reduced between Rs 5.7 to Rs 6.35, and diesel prices between Rs 11.16 to Rs 12.18.
Lodh added that the association wants the central government to compensate for the losses as the majority of the fuel stations had purchased fuel ahead of the weekend.
Aurangabad petrol dealers’ association secretary Aqeel Abbas said the association wants a mechanism in place so that whenever there is a revision of prices, the fuel stations do not suffer. He said that the association does not intend to cause any inconvenience to the commoners by keeping the fuel stations closed, and that is the reason the association has decided to not purchase fuel.
However, civil supplies, as well as oil company officials, have unanimously raised questions over the association’s move. “Each time the fuel prices have been hiked in the past eight years, did the petrol pump owners pass the benefits to the customers by selling the fuel in line with the old price at which it was purchased,” asked an official.
