Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The soaring fuel prices in Madhya Pradesh are benefiting petrol pumps in the districts of Gujarat that share borders with certain parts of the state, local petrol pump operators told Free Press on Saturday.
The prices of petrol and diesel in the two neighbouring states have a huge difference, which motivates vehicle owners to travel an extra mile to get their tanks filled at a cheaper rate.
While a litre of petrol saves them from Rs 12-14, diesel saves them Rs 2 to Rs 3 per litre if they fill tanks in neighbouring Gujarat cities like Dahod and Chhota Udaipur.
Petrol in Madhya Pradesh is sold at Rs 118.14 - Rs 119 a litre and diesel at Rs 101.16 - Rs 102 a litre. Against this, petrol in Dahod costs Rs 105.02 to Rs 106 a litre. Diesel costs Rs 99.8 to Rs 100.5 per litre.
A filling station operator in MP’s Pitol area, Hussain Pitowala, said people found it more economical to travel eight kilometers to the neighbouring state to get their tanks filled instead of spending an unrealistic amount here.
Arvind Thakkar, the president of Gujarat Petroleum Dealers’ Association, said, “We have done remarkable business in Dahod in the past few days as there has been an unprecedented vehicular flow from Madhya Pradesh to get tanks filled.”
Madhya Pradesh Petrol Pump Association chief Ajay Singh said the business in cities like Pitol had been badly hit as the fuel prices spiked. They prefer travelling a few kilometers extra and instead of paying huge sums for fuel in MP, he added.
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