Prices on a roll.... what do we care??
With the election results out, the government has wasted no time to hike the prices of petrol across the country. A commodity that increased once the pace of our life, is now rapidly making a niche for itself in the 'luxury market'. There is no blame game, nor is this a blog to say that the government does not care for the common man.
Fuel price hikes are global. I have championed the move of deregulation of prices for quite some time now. Today, when the prices of a litre reaches Rs 71, there is definitely a cause for concern. Common concerns will be the imminent call for a strike from our auto-wallahs, unannounced and unnoticed by the media hike in bus fares, helpless and mandatory deeper holes in your pocket when you fill up your vehicle. But, when I came across the news of the hike today, my immediate concern was the prevalent ignorance of our countrymen and willingness to shell more rather than change habits.
No matter how many jokes are cracked about the bicycle being the cheapest means of transport, none of these water cooler moments, are considered by office goers, ever!!!. The reason is very simple. We are too proud to even try to be humble. Bicycle can only be a status symbol for an office-boy or the watchman. We are ready to buy a stationary one for ornamental purposes in our homes. Once a month (or probably twice)we are even happier to slap our gluteus to a sweaty-sticky seat of of the 'exercise cycle' in our membership gyms. But using one, to reach our office or even reach the nearby grocery store is miles below our dignity.
After years of complaining about bad roads and lack of adequate public transport, we have chosen to use our own vehicles for all our mobility needs. Little consideration is given to the thought that the buses too are heading there and would not mind another person on board. We should be proud of not buying pertrol and using public transport rather than the other way around.
The reluctance to change our habits for the better was once shown, when Reva failed to take off . One could argue that the Reva was too ahead of its time and that very few people even realized that fuel prices might be an issue someday and deregulation was out of the question. But the fact, that the Tata Nano, 'The People's Car' was launched as a petrol version when fuel prices were already high, shows people's willingness to pay more rather than change habits. Tata Motors is working hard on an electric version of Nano. Again, the target market is not India.
All this makes it very clear that our dissent at rising prices of fuel and concern for inflation is very superficial. It will not make any difference to us, even if fuel prices double over the next six months. We will still have our jokes, sarcasm and the government to blame. what is really needed is change in our attitudes. This change can be brought from within. Sometimes, an external example can be highly motivational. So lets start at the top of the hierarchy. If the boss does it, so does the employee.
So let us ask our PM, CMs, Governors etc. to start paying up for the convoys from their own pockets. (I hear the salaries they make now-a-days are comparable to the top CEOs of the country). In case, you feel the pinch, decreasing the number of vehicles is definitely an option. or else walk to work, like many people do!!!!
Fuel price hikes are global. I have championed the move of deregulation of prices for quite some time now. Today, when the prices of a litre reaches Rs 71, there is definitely a cause for concern. Common concerns will be the imminent call for a strike from our auto-wallahs, unannounced and unnoticed by the media hike in bus fares, helpless and mandatory deeper holes in your pocket when you fill up your vehicle. But, when I came across the news of the hike today, my immediate concern was the prevalent ignorance of our countrymen and willingness to shell more rather than change habits.
No matter how many jokes are cracked about the bicycle being the cheapest means of transport, none of these water cooler moments, are considered by office goers, ever!!!. The reason is very simple. We are too proud to even try to be humble. Bicycle can only be a status symbol for an office-boy or the watchman. We are ready to buy a stationary one for ornamental purposes in our homes. Once a month (or probably twice)we are even happier to slap our gluteus to a sweaty-sticky seat of of the 'exercise cycle' in our membership gyms. But using one, to reach our office or even reach the nearby grocery store is miles below our dignity.
After years of complaining about bad roads and lack of adequate public transport, we have chosen to use our own vehicles for all our mobility needs. Little consideration is given to the thought that the buses too are heading there and would not mind another person on board. We should be proud of not buying pertrol and using public transport rather than the other way around.
The reluctance to change our habits for the better was once shown, when Reva failed to take off . One could argue that the Reva was too ahead of its time and that very few people even realized that fuel prices might be an issue someday and deregulation was out of the question. But the fact, that the Tata Nano, 'The People's Car' was launched as a petrol version when fuel prices were already high, shows people's willingness to pay more rather than change habits. Tata Motors is working hard on an electric version of Nano. Again, the target market is not India.
All this makes it very clear that our dissent at rising prices of fuel and concern for inflation is very superficial. It will not make any difference to us, even if fuel prices double over the next six months. We will still have our jokes, sarcasm and the government to blame. what is really needed is change in our attitudes. This change can be brought from within. Sometimes, an external example can be highly motivational. So lets start at the top of the hierarchy. If the boss does it, so does the employee.
So let us ask our PM, CMs, Governors etc. to start paying up for the convoys from their own pockets. (I hear the salaries they make now-a-days are comparable to the top CEOs of the country). In case, you feel the pinch, decreasing the number of vehicles is definitely an option. or else walk to work, like many people do!!!!
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