Fuel retailers observe strike in India's Rajasthan state

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Petrol and diesel retailers and dealers in India's western state of Rajasthan observed a strike on Sunday to protest against exorbitant fuel prices in the state.

The two-day strike will continue on Monday, as talks between the Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association (RPDA) and the state government failed to arrive at an agreeable conclusion.

There are nearly 6,500 petrol and diesel retailers and dealers in the state, selling nearly 40 million liters of fuel per day on average.

The RPDA's "No Purchase, No Sale" strike commenced at 06:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, lasting 48 hours. A large number of vehicle owners in the state were seen stranded on roads due to paucity of fuel.

The cost of petrol and diesel in Rajasthan is around 10 percent higher than in the neighboring states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

RPDA Treasurer Sandeep Bageria was quoted as saying that petrol and diesel retailers and dealers in Rajasthan had been facing continuous losses due to increased value-added tax (VAT) on fuel prices. "Despite repeated demands to reduce the VAT, the state government has not addressed our concerns," Bageria said.

According to him, another demand was that the commission of the retailers and dealers had not increased for the last seven years. "Due to this, most of the petrol pumps in Rajasthan are on the verge of closure," he added.