With the inflation as per official figures at 9.06 percent, the recent hike will only add to it. So what will the "Aam Aadmi" do when the "Aam Aadmi" government pays only lip service to taming inflation. One can only empathize with people when the rising fuel prices make a dent in their pockets.
Oil takes up nearly 80% of India's import bill. In such a case to be fair to the government withholding oil price hikes without compensating the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum etc.. adequately would be detrimental to the health of these OMC's.
Other than that government has to take a major portion of the blame for things coming to such a sorry state. There is no long term strategy to develop alternative sources of energy. How long can one depend on fossil fuels whose reserves would not last long and are also a major cause of pollution? Unlike in the west, where there has been ongoing research and experimentation on using alternative fuels made from algae, ethanol etc., we don't see any initiative(s) of that kind in India. Some airlines like Air New Zealand have already started experimenting with bio-fuels.
One area of concern is the the Public Distribution System (PDS). It must be streamlined so that the poor man's fuel like Kerosene reaches the target audience. What now happens is most of the Kerosene is siphoned off and makes it way to the black market. Some of the adulterated kerosene end up for use in the autorickshaws further adding to the pollution.
The road network in India is still poor even though some Infrastructure building activities have been taken up. With disposable incomes rising and more people able to afford a four wheeler the road network has not kept pace. The vehicle population in most cities has seen a surge and with the arrival of global auto majors things are only going to get worse.
Luxurious cars like Bentleys, Buggatis etc.. are making a beeline for the Indian market. Leaving aside their fuel efficiency, one fails to understand how can you possibly drive these vehicles on Indian roads but that's not a deterrent as long as there are buyers.
The government solution is to build more flyovers and by the time the work is completed, things are back to square one.
Indian roads especially in cities today present a picture of chaos, congestion and ever rising pollution levels. What Indian cities need badly is something like the Delhi Metro. Privatising public transport is not the solution. The respective governments must take the lead here.
For example, just like in western countries why not have a dedicated car pool/bus lane. In most cities in India, people using personal transport form a minor segment compared to pedestrians. Yet the government and the Urban planners have got their priorities wrong by giving more preference to motorists vis-a-vis pedestrians. There are no zebra/pedestrian crossings and where they do exist you can only dare cross the road without getting hit by motorists. No wonder that India has got the dubious distinction of highest number of road accident fatalities in the world.
Also what is worrying is the pavements which are increasing getting encroached or non-existent forcing pedestrians to risk their life and limb by walking on the road.
Cycling or walking is a pleasure but now as a mode of transport is becoming an endangered activity. Also the mindset of the people must change. They need to encourage public transport as much as possible and the government has to make it the number 1 priority to speed up infrastructure projects.
The only silver lining one can see from the recent spate of hikes (I bet this will not be the last one :)) is that it's time to look at cleaner and greener alternatives. We owe it to our future generations that they can live and breathe in a much cleaner air.
(Image courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPy-aNsJyPky8kh98Qy3272li7IxhoAkSwsojQpctpMufF4hnYEZP_Fj9icNvKg_9UyBfahuWMdDVR57Sp658F1Lhbx60RL0SZx5rUh9RuDAndilCvISWITGdjLugU9yGaI68/s400/high+gas+prices.jpg)
