[engideNedmupe]

Oil companies on Thursday hiked petrol prices by `1.82 per litre citing increasing crude prices. After Thursday’s increase, petrol in Chennai will cost `72.64 a litre. This is the sixth hike in petrol prices in 2011.

Unlike during previous petrol price hikes, there was no mad rush in the petrol pumps as the hike has become routine affair. However, the motorists had expressed their anger over the persistent price hike.

Sources said oil minister Jaipal Reddy consulted finance minister Pranab Mukherjee before oil companies were given a green signal to raise prices.

The heads of IOC, BPCL and HPCL, met on Thursday to decide on the price hike after they got a green signal from the oil ministry.


Chief minister Jayalalithaa has slammed the UPA government for the latest petrol price hike saying it amounted to adding insult to injury as the people were already suffering from spiralling prices. “The Centre is frequently hiking fuel prices, especially at a time when its wrong economic policies and mismanagement has resulted in spiralling prices of all commodities,“ she said.

Lambasting the Centre for the frequent revision of fuel prices, she said it was least bothered about the impact of such hike on common people. “The latest revision will mainly affect twowheeler users from the middle-class. Instead of taking price-control measures, the Centre is only implementing prices-escalation measures,“ she said in a statement here.