RAWALPINDI, Aug 23: The residents of the garrison city including politician and traders on Thursday rejected the recent increase in the CNG and petroleum prices and urged the government to withdraw them.

The government increased the price of petrol by Rs3.21 per litre and diesel by Rs4.85 per litre as well as CNG by Rs3.21 per kg.

They said that instead of increasing petroleum prices, the rulers should have tightened their own belt.

Ali Safdar, a government employee, said that the unprecedented price increase would affect quality of common man’s life as with it the cost of production and transport fare would also go up.

Aftab Ahmed, another government employee, said the inflation had already nutralised the little increase the government had made in the salaries of government employees and now came the surge in prices of petroleum products which would exacerbate their problems. Fayyaz Hussain, a teacher, said the increase was unjustified because oil prices in the international market were falling.

Traders also rejected the incessant upsurges in POL prices. Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Jawed Akhtar Bhatti criticised increase in prices of CNG and petroleum products and termed it lethal for economic and industrial development of the country.

He said that the industry was already facing energy crisis and the recent hike would inflict a colossal loss to the business activities in the country. He demanded the government to immediately withdraw the increase in prices of CNG and petroleum products.