Chennai has on Friday become yet another metro city in India to join the troubling '100' club as the price of per litre of petrol has crossed Rs 100, leaving the residents to brace up the pain amid financial distress. In an unprecedented hike, the Chennaiites are expressing their shock over the surge and urged the governments to pay heed to their distress and decrease the price before it fuels the pain further. 

While the oil companies have increased the price of petrol on Friday, it had kept the diesel price unchanged. According to reports, the retail price of petrol increased by 35 paise per litre in New Delhi on Friday to Rs 99.16 while diesel prices maintained the previous day's price line of Rs 89.18 a litre. Chennai has now joined the '100' club and the fuel is now priced at Rs 100.13 a litre in the city. Mumbai is one of the metro cities where petrol prices have crossed 100 and been trading at Rs 105.24 per litre. 

The petrol price is varied depending on the level of local taxes in different states. Bhopal had in May become the first state capital to breach the Rs 100-mark in petrol prices. Following Bhopal, the cities like Jaipur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram had crossed the Rs 100-mark. Friday's hike in petrol prices has become the first increase in July.  Over 12 states are reported with the Rs 100-mark in petrol prices.

The reports say that Friday's hike was the 33rd hike in petrol prices since May 4. Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan near the India-Pakistan border was the first place in the country to see the petrol crossing the Rs 100-mark. It had hit a century in petrol prices in mid-February and currently, a litre of petrol is being sold at Rs 110.40 in Sri Ganganagar district while diesel is being traded at Rs 102.42.

As the petrol prices have been hitting an unprecedented high, the people are expressing their distress over the hikes amid managing to afford the inevitable fuel. Earlier last month, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that petrol and diesel prices are rising on account of higher international crude oil rates. With growing prices, the people are demanding to bring the fuel prices under the ambit of Goods and Service Tax (GST), which may bring down the prices with an equal slab of tax. 

However, Pradhan said it is up to the GST Council to decide whether fuel should be brought under the Goods and Services Tax, which, many believe, would substantially bring down prices. By citing that the price of the fuel is regulated by the global market, he said he is of the opinion that fuel should be brought under the GST. India's prominent opposition party Congress has staunchly flayed the government over the fuel hike and the party has said it will stage a 10-day nationwide protest against the petrol price hike from July 7.