Blinded Horses

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The arguments put forward by Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain in The dirty d-word (February 10) to remove the diesel subsidy are incorrect. Passenger cars consume just a little percentage of diesel: a large percentage of it is used in public transportation and agriculture. That is the logic of providing the subsidy. A removal of the subsidy will have a considerable push on prices in the country. Already, suicides of some farmers have been reported as they were unable to meet the costs of agriculture. Removal of the subsidy will amount to putting a burden on farmers as well as those who use railways and buses for commuting.

The contention that the Auto Expo was grotesque because cars are becoming diesel-ised also is made out of ignorance. Normally, people prefer petrol versions of cars because they are smoother and because they have longer lives than diesel versions. Usually, only cars used for commercial purposes are preferred in diesel. Only misguided environmentalists will advocate removal of subsidies on diesel by looking at the minuscule percentage of the fuel used in personal cars. The effect of this on the common man has been blissfully ignored.