Oil Companies have been permitted by the Government of India to play ducks and drakes with us the consumers.  As consumers we have no remedy except to swallow the bitter pill and pay whatever the oil companies indicate as the price.  Of course we have an alternative .  If one wants to use his own petrol driven vehicle, he can stop driving it and walk the distance or go in for the humble bicycle.  Both the alternatives are not feasible.  So one has to depend on public transport which in turn means that those are at the mercy of the oil companies and have to pay what they ordain.  They in turn will make every endeavor to pass on their  additional burden  to the long suffering consumer.

Nowadays the oil companies float rumours that  a hike in oi prices is round the corner, and speculation about the extent of hike is freely bandied about. After several days of our dreading the magnitude of the increase (or decrease) at the dead of night the oil companies will say that the consumer has to pay so much.  Our opposition political parties will try to fish for their votes : they arrange for demonstrations, public speeches, etc.  If elections are round the corner they will declare from the housetops that they will the increase once they come to power, and even reduce the lowered prices.  Everybody knows that they are bogus claims.  Once when NTR was the CM, he authorized the increase of bus fares consequent on oil price increase. The opposition observed a total bandh and NTR reduced the increase to extent.   A few months later, the Congress came to power, and the first thing they did was to increase the Bus fares – much more than what NTR proposed..

Of late we see the phenomenon of Petrol or diesel prices being increased and sometimes their being reduced.  The decrease in prices if any, is not substantial and is just an eyewash.  Once again, a few months later they will restore the status quo or even increase prices to a higher level.   ONE WONDER : THE PEOPLE ARE ALREADY ADJUSTED TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF PRICES; WHY REDUCE THEM?  INSTEAD THE REDUCTION  AMOUNT DIFFERENCE CAN BE CREDITED TO A PRICE FLUCTUATION FUND  WHICH CAN BE USED WHEN THE PRICES RISE ONCE AGAIN?