Dibrugarh: Members of the All Assam Mottock Yuba Chatra Parishad (AAMYCP) and the All Assam Mottock Students’ Union (Aamsu) took to the streets of Tinsukia town on Monday, staging a protest against the relentless rise in petrol and diesel prices.The protesters took out a procession through the town before converging at the town square, where they burnt the effigy of Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri amid loud sloganeering against the Centre. They later submitted a memorandum to the Tinsukia district commissioner addressed to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, demanding immediate intervention to provide relief to the common man.The protest comes against the backdrop of India implementing four consecutive fuel price hikes over the past two weeks, raising cumulative petrol and diesel rates by nearly Rs 7.5 per litre. The recent increases have pushed retail fuel prices to their highest levels since May 2022, driven largely by volatility in global crude oil markets.The protesters said the repeated hikes were not just a burden on motorists, but were having a cascading effect across the entire economy, driving up transportation costs and pushing the prices of daily essentials well beyond what an ordinary household could afford.“Fuel price hikes do not stop at the petrol pump. When fuel becomes expensive, everything — from vegetables and groceries to medicines– becomes expensive. The common man is being crushed from all sides, and govt seems completely indifferent,” said Bhaskar Hazarika, a representative of the AAMYCP.“Four hikes in less than two weeks is not just a price revision, it is an attack on the livelihood of the poor and the middle class. We demand that govt roll back these hikes immediately,” an Aamsu leader said.The organisations warned that if govt failed to take heed of their demands, they would be compelled to escalate their agitation across the district in the coming days.
Protesters effigy of Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri
Protesters effigy of Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri
