Kerosene Firewood burning in Kashmir poses more health problems

In the wake of absence of adequate electricity supplies and shortage of alternative supplies like LPG in the valley, many people have turned to conventional kerosene/ mud stoves for cooking meals this winter.Kerosene heaters/ stoves have been selling like hot cakes as people find it the most affordable and easily available source for cooking and warming themselves.However, a number of health risks people expose themselves to while using kerosene based heating/ warming and even lightning appliances are usually ignored.

Kerosene combustion/ burning produces the most toxic gases like Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides which lead to serious respiratory and cardiac ailments.

Their usage is particularly high in rural areas, where people are not provided with basic electricity and other facilities and health awareness is low.Incidentally, a number of tragic accidents which have occurred were due to burn injuries caused, especially to women and children while using kerosene heating/ cooking devices.“ People usually avoid exercising precautionary measures while using kerosene based devices which lands them into trouble. Many sub-district hospitals in the far flung areas treat hundreds of such cases on an average basis in winters. Children are the most affected age group as they indulge in mishandling of these dangerous devices,” said Dr. Ahmad Waseem, a physician at SKIMS, Soura.

People say that there does not seem to be much of the choice for them which is why they have again gone back to the usage of kerosene lamps/ heaters and stoves.

“ Electricity tariff is touching sky high prices. Even LPG is not readily available now is being sold by black marketers at unaffordable rates. What could a common man do? ,” asks Gaffar, a public employee.Usage of kerosene, charcoal and firewood is prevalent in valley and more than 60 per cent of the valleyites in some way or the other use these during winters for heating, cooking and other purposes. The state government , has been non-active in enforcing strict regulations on inddor pollution problem , even if the number of injuries and deaths due to smoke choking , lung cancers and other related diseases in far off areas of the valley are on a rise especially in winters.

Hike in Prices

Steep hike in diesel, kerosene, LPG prices

In a steep hike, the Government today increased diesel price by Rs 3 per litre, domestic LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 2 per litre and slashed customs and excise duties on crude oil and products, sacrificing Rs 49,000 crores in revenues.

The increase, decided at a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is exclusive of local sales tax, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters here.

Diesel price in Delhi will be hiked by Rs 3.40 per litre to Rs 41.15 a litre with effect from midnight. Rates will vary at cities due to differential rates of VAT/sales tax.

Besides the price hike, the EGoM decided to abolish the 5 per cent customs or import duty on crude oil, and slashed the same on diesel and petrol by 2.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent. Also, excise duty on diesel was cut from Rs 4.60 per litre to Rs 2 a litre.

Reddy described the hikes, which had become necessary in view of a rally in international crude oil price, as "very modest and minimal".

The decision to cut customs duty on petrol also meant that the Rs 1.98 per litre hike needed to level retail prices with their cost would no longer be required, he said.

The reduction in excise duty on diesel would lead to a revenue loss of Rs 23,000 crore this fiscal, while in the customs duty cut the government will forego Rs 26,000 crore. The price hike would help the oil companies limit their revenue loss by Rs 21,000 crore, but they still would end the fiscal with about Rs 1,20,000 crore of revenue loss.

Oil Secretary G C Chaturvedi said the hike in price of diesel would add 0.3-0.4 per cent increase in inflation which is already hovering around 9 per cent, more than twice the rate in the US and almost four times of Germany's.

Asked about the political fallout of the hike, Reddy said, "Political problem will always be there. Economic problem will not wait for solution to political crisis."

Despite a steep hike of Rs 50 per cylinder in LPG rates, which equals Rs 50.55 increase by the then NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government in March, 2000, domestic cooking gas will still be cheaper compared to that in the neighbouring countries.

LPG in Pakistan costs Rs 611.40 per cylinder, Rs 484 in Bangladesh, Rs 878.90 in Sri Lanka and Rs 821 in Nepal.

Similarly, the Rs 2 per litre hike in kerosene price, which comes on the back of last year's Rs 3 per litre raise, would raise rates in Delhi to Rs 14.32 per litre, still cheaper than Rs 43.95 in Pakistan, Rs 27.81 in Bangladesh, Rs 25.12 in Sri Lanka and Rs 42.61 of Nepal.

"I am sandwiched between economist on the one hand and populist on the other. Economist will say why only Rs 2 per litre increase in kerosene, while the populist will say why did you increase by even Rs 2 per litre," Reddy said. "Consumers can easily absorb the hikes announced today."

Asked how he managed to convince the Finance Ministry to forego revenues in a difficult year, he said, "I will not give you a glimpse into my kitchen. I will only serve the dishes."

"The only inflationary item is diesel. The hike is minimal," Reddy said, adding the basket of crude oil India buys has averaged USD 113 per barrel this quarter as against USD 75 per barrel at the time of last increase almost a year ago.

Today's hike in diesel and LPG rates, the first in almost a year, comes on back of last month's steep Rs 5 per litre increase in petrol price to Rs 63.37 per litre in Delhi.

The same EGoM had a year ago freed petrol price from government control and since then they have risen 23 per cent.

The current price of Rs 63.37 a litre in Delhi was short of its cost by Rs 1.98 per litre but the cut in customs duty has negated the required price increase, he said.

The increase in price of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, will stoke inflation. Diesel is the preferred fuel for transportation in the country and an increase in tis price will lead to increase in transportation cost of almost all commodities. It has a 4.7 per cent weight in the benchmark wholesale-price index and petrol 1.1 per cent.

State-owned fuel retailers were losing Rs 456 crore per day on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at Government controlled rates before today's decision.

Chaturvedi said oil firms were losing Rs 13.72 per litre on diesel and the price hike together with customs duty and excise duty cut would lower the revenue loss to Rs 6.22 per litre. Similarly, they were losing Rs 26.66 per litre on kerosene and Rs 381.14 on every 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder.

"There still will be under-recoveries (losses) even after the price hike and duty cuts," he said.