Strike in India over price hike

Published June 6, 2008

KOLKATA, June 5: Fuel price hikes prompted a strike in three Indian states on Thursday, and Malaysia’s resurgent opposition vowed street protests as pump prices there rose by up to 60 per cent.

Communist allies of the ruling coalition in India started a week of protests against Wednesday’s price hikes by calling a one-day strike in the three states they rule — West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura — leaving streets, offices and airports largely deserted.

They say the government should have done more to insulate consumers from high global oil prices, even though it only passed on a fraction of surging crude costs when it raised heavily subsidised prices of petrol and diesel by about 10 per cent.—Reuters

Opinion

Bribed doctors

Bribed doctors

A cocktail of measures — educational, managerial, regulatory — need to be taken and interventions need to be made simultaneously and sustainably.

Editorial

Digital dragnet
24 Jan, 2025

Digital dragnet

The Pakistani state must stop inflicting wounds on itself and learn to resolve its internal issues through social and political means.
USC closure
24 Jan, 2025

USC closure

THE PML-N government seems to have finally firmed up its mind on the future of the Utility Stores. The cabinet has...
Hindu exodus
Updated 24 Jan, 2025

Hindu exodus

The state cannot absolve itself of the responsibility to protect Hindu citizens, and assure them of safety.
A dying light
Updated 23 Jan, 2025

A dying light

Objections to the 26th Amendment must be settled quickly for the Supreme Court's sake.
Controversial canals
23 Jan, 2025

Controversial canals

THE Punjab government’s contentious plans to build new canals to facilitate corporate farming in the province ...
Killjoys
23 Jan, 2025

Killjoys

THE skies over Lahore have fallen silent. Punjab’s latest legislation banning kite flying represents a troubling...