People in Karnataka, burdened by the hike in fuel price, are being forced to pay more as petrol stations are now providing only the expensive higher-octane petrol.

This situation is also reflected in the neighbouring state Tamil Nadu. A fuel station supervisor of Shell outlet at Chennai's Vadapalani locality said that the government subsidy to fuel station owners has been suddenly stopped since last Monday. He says that this could be the most likely reason why the bunk owners are not willing to pick up stocks.

Many petrol pumps in Bangalore have informed their customers that normal petrol will no longer be available. A consumer, a senior citizen, said that he never realized that the petrol pump was providing branded petrol. Another petrol pump told him that this was the last time they were providing normal petrol as they no longer have stock. They were also heard saying the same thing to other people.

The price of ordinary petrol rose by Rs 5 ($.11) to Rs 57.15 ($1.32) a litre, and that of branded petrol is 61.15 ($1.41). The price of ordinary diesel is Rs 39.15 ($.90), while that of branded diesel is Rs 41.15 ($.95). Now the people pay nearly 15% more for fuel as they have no option to choose normal fuel and are forced to bear the brunt.

There seems to be no answer to the problem in the near future as the government seems to have ignored the plight of the people.

Bangalore has been hit by inflation in almost all fields. The city is also experiencing a low phase in buying property. In spite of freebies and a small drop in prices, there are no takers. This is believed to result in a further drop in property value to lure buyers. X