The government had no choice but to increase fuel oil prices, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said.
He was speaking to reporters at his home in Keraniganj on Saturday.
The authorities had hiked the prices in line with costs in the international market, the state minister said. “We will readjust the prices if they come down in the international market.”
“We tried to keep the prices at a tolerable level, but even then many might not consider it manageable. We were without any other options.”
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) had been incurring losses amounting to more than Tk8,000 crore, the state minister said. “There was no option but to increase prices in order to keep fuel oil supply normal,” he added.
The government would still incur a loss of Tk8 per litre despite the increase in the price of diesel, and it has had to raise octane and petrol prices to offset that, Nasrul Hamid said.
“The public have to be patient. The new prices will not seem tolerable to everyone,” he said, reiterating that the global situation had forced the government’s hand.
“We are repeatedly asking everyone to be frugal, to save on fuel and to use cars less often since the transport sector is the biggest user of diesel. Power generation accounts for only 10% of diesel use.”
The government on Friday announced that it had raised all fuel oil prices, which came into effect on Saturday.
Now the price of diesel and kerosene per litre at the consumer level is Tk114, octane Tk135, and petrol Tk130.
Chaos ensued at filling stations in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country following the announcement.
In videos shared on social media, people were seen crowding refuelling stations and jostling to fill their vehicles’ tanks before the hike became effective.
Commuters, especially office-goers, in Dhaka and other parts of the country suffered on Saturday — with many being late to their destinations — as there were fewer public transports than usual, following the sudden hike in fuel oil prices.
