Several citizens are now considering stop using their bikes and looking for an economic alternative.
(Photo: iStock)
Gripping the handle bars of his motorcycle before beginning to ride to the place of work, Surojit Saha, a marketing agent in a private insurance company, has of late been thinking of stop using his two-wheeler for a daily commute to his office.
Unable to bear the burden of the soaring fuel prices, Surojit is now considering borrowing his uncle’s cycle for his commute to the office.
Like Surojit, the skyrocketing petrol price that reached rupees 98.30 after a hike of 33 paisa per litre today, has brought difficult times for the city’s middle-class and the poor.
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Fuel prices going through the roof and the financial crisis brought by the waves of the pandemic hitting one after another, are burning holes in the pockets of the city’s middle class, a large number of whom heavily depend on two-wheelers for a daily commute.
Several citizens are now considering stop using their bikes and looking for an economic alternative.
Kunika Das, working at a fashion designer’s studio in Park Street, is now considering walking down to her workplace which is about 1.5km from her house.
“I have been using my scooty for daily commute to my office. With my salary cut down by half due to the pandemic and the hike in fuel prices, I am thinking of waking down to my office to save some amount,” claimed Kunika.
Among the middle-class, an important section of the citizens severely impacted by the roof hitting fuel prices, is the online food delivery boys, who are not in a financial position to shift to electric scooters because of the high initial investment required. An acute financial crisis has made their life entangled in various issues of meeting their daily needs with limited resources.
“The soaring fuel prices are increasing my apprehensions about how I will be able to run my family with such a restricted income,” claimed Sohrab Alam, an online food delivery boy.
“If the trend of hike in fuel prices continues, it will be impossible for people like us to survive,” he added.
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