With yet another hike in the prices of petrol and diesel on Monday, the general public across the country expressed extreme displeasure and shared the issues surrounding them due to inflation. They urged the central government to increase the current salary of the employees and the fare of taxis to provide relief to the middle-class workers. Notably, the price hike on fuel today marks the fourth increase in less than two weeks amid continued volatility in global crude markets and ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Sunil Kumar, a resident of Delhi, expressed his disappointment, saying that the common man is affected more than anyone else, flagging the minimal salaries being paid to the people, which are not enough to manage the growing inflation ."The petrol prices should be reduced to some extent. It should be less for the common people. The general public is spending its money, no one else. Our salaries are not increasing but the petrol prices have increased. With the hike in fuel prices, rates of everything like vegetables, will also increase. Public will face difficulties," he said.

In Bengaluru, Abdullah, a local, expressed his disappointment, "What can we do if the government is doing this. It does affect us a lot, but what can we do?" Ram Syed Sardar, another local, furiously questioned the "good days" being promised by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). "There is a lot of inflation, and it is affecting us really badly. The situation is very difficult; if the government reduces the price of petrol and diesel, it will help a lot. They (centre) said that good days will come. Those 'good days' have arrived. Just poison everyone and live happily," he slammed the centre.

Vijay, a taxi driver, noted that the fare of taxis is not increasing, which has made it extremely difficult for the taxi drivers to manage their livelihood amid the growing fuel prices. "The prices are increasing every passing day. We taxi drivers don't know how to manage. Every day, the petrol prices increase, and we don't know what fare we should charge the customers. If tourists stop using vehicles, it will affect us a lot," he said."This is happening because of the war; India is still in a better position than other countries," he added.

Meanwhile, petrol prices in Delhi crossed the ₹100-mark, rising by ₹2.61 to ₹102.12 per litre, while diesel prices increased by ₹2.71 to ₹95.20 per litre. Similar hikes were witnessed across major metropolitan cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, adding to the burden on consumers and transport operators.

In Kolkata, petrol prices increased by ₹2.87 to ₹113.51 per litre, while diesel rose by ₹2.80 to ₹99.82 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol became costlier by ₹2.72 and is now priced at Rs 111.21 per litre, whereas diesel climbed by ₹2.81 to ₹97.83 per litre. In Chennai, petrol prices rose by ₹2.46 to ₹107.77 per litre, and diesel increased by ₹2.57 to ₹99.55 per litre.

The continued hikes in petrol, diesel and CNG prices are likely to increase logistics and transportation costs further, potentially triggering a cascading effect on retail inflation and impacting household budgets as well as commercial transport sectors across the country.

Published on May 25, 2026