Over 6,300 Fuel Stations Shut In Rajasthan Due To Strike Over High Taxes

More than 6,300 petrol pumps in Rajasthan remained closed from 10 am to 6 pm on Wednesday as part of a strike called by operators against high Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and petrol.

The pumps will remain shut for the same duration tomorrow as well.

Rajendra Singh Bhati, state president of the Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers' Association - which called the strike - said the protest was against high VAT on fuel in the state.

"If the state government does not fulfil our demands of reducing VAT, a decision will be taken on Friday to go on an indefinite strike," he said.

Former state president of the association Sunit Bagai said VAT in Rajasthan is higher than neighbouring states like Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and people in border areas go to these states to get fuel.

"Several petrol pumps in Hanumangarh and other bordering areas in Rajasthan have been shut in the last few years because of losses. People go to neighbouring states to buy petrol and diesel, causing losses to the petrol pumps in Rajasthan," he said.

It also causes revenue loss to the state government, he said.

The association has been raising the demand for a long time but there has been no response from the state government, Sunit Bagai said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)