By: Shukria kohistani
KABUL: Many Afghans complain over rising fuel prices, saying one-liter fuel have jumped to 63 Afghani in the Oil Stations in Kabul.
Talking to The Kabul Times, some Afghan citizens expressed their concerns regarding the sudden increase of fuel price in Afghanistan, adding that the increase in fuel prices overshadow the economic situation of all Afghans across the country.
Afghan citizens complaining about the taxi fares in Kabul too, saying they have made people pay a high fare. According to them, poor citizens are seemingly unable to afford it as well as facing many other economic challenges in their lives.
Yar Mohammad, one of the taxi drivers who operate in Kabul city, said that the prices went high in the past few days because the fuel prices increased throughout Afghanistan. “I operate from Da Afghanistan Bank to Charahi-e- Qambar and have to take a high fare. When the fuel price is high in the gas stations, I have to take high fare from the passengers too”, Yar Mohammad said. “last week the passengers paid 20 Afghani, now it has jumped to 30 Afghani”, he added.
Talking to The Kabul Times, one of the Kabul residents, Yasamin, said: “If I have to pay a high fare to the buses or taxi drivers operating in the city, I prefer to walk to my workplace and walk back home rather than going by taxis”. She hoped that the Afghan officials to pay more attention to this problem and solve it.
Rahmat, one of the workers in a gas station in Makrorayan area, said: “Violence and the ongoing war in the Afghanistan major provinces and customs are the main reason behind fuel’s price, including diesel and petrol’s, are increasing recently”.
Rahmat, who is working in Ahmad Yar gas station located in Second Makrorayan, added that the gas station burned three years ago and millions of Afghanis were wasted, but from then on, though its tank has fuel, the government is not permitting them to reopen and reactive this gas station.
“At the moment, the gas station’s tank is full of 200.000-liter fuel and, if reactivated, the government would benefit from it a lot.”
The firing in the Islamqala custom is not the only reason that the fuel prices jumped over the past few days, 60 percent of fuel and other commodities are imported through Hairatan, Aqina, and Sher Khan ports.
In the meantime, the officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan accused the Afghan shopkeepers and vendors of hoarding, saying that Afghan shopkeepers and vendors misusing the opportunity and take advantage of the current situation of the country and have increased the prices by their own. They also added that if the vendors and shopkeepers don’t stop, they might legally punished.
The Afghan people demand the government to control the food and fuel prices in Afghanistan. The increase in fuel and food prices is a constant problem in Afghanistan that has not been solved by the government so far. The Afghan people also hoped for the day the government finds a solution to this problem.
