Consequences of rise in cost of diesel on various important joints in Hasakah

Rising prices of diesel fuel, the main source of transportation, operation of electric generators and water, has worsened the crisis of living in the city of Hasakah, in that the effects of this issue are felt in all sectors of services and vital, adding another burden on the people considering declining purchasing power and cost of life.

Rising the price of diesel led to an increase in the cost of public transport and taxis along with an increase in subscription for electric generators and a reduction in their operating hours, along with an increase in the price of water tanks from which residents drink due to the failure of pumping stations.

In this case, citizen Mustafa Al-Hamada explained that the rise in the price of diesel had an impact on several essential services, because the prices of electric generators, water tanks, and transportation have been raised considerably.

Furthermore, he said, “The citizen can’t endure the burden any longer, since this problem is not only related to the rise in prices, but there is a problem of scarcity of fuel as well.”

Al-Hamada elaborated on the problems of the citizen every day, by saying, “Filling the water tank became more costly from 35 to 50 thousand S.P, and the prices of transportations were raised too, since the price for traveling to Damascus became around 400 thousand S.P, besides other essential goods and services including bread.”

He noted that the electricity situation in the area was deteriorating day after day, since the owners of the electricity generators on which people rely have cut down on their operating hours to an hour of work followed by hours without electricity. They are shut off in some periods till noon, then restarted at seven in the evening until midnight. At the same time, the plight of the people is worsening due to the lack of water supplies, as a result of the suspension of the tanks or delay in their delivery. This complicates the provision of basic needs.

He made it clear that all these hardships are beyond the capacity of citizens to bear, as various aspects of daily life have been linked to the price of fuel, whether it is transportation and bread or running factories and services.

As for the citizen Majdoline Hassan, she confirmed that the living conditions have worsened in the wake of the lack of electricity and water and the expensive cost of providing them, as filling a water tank sometimes costs up to 70 thousand S.P.

She further added that the unavailability of diesel along with its expensive price has affected the lives of the citizens to the extent that now families are unable to meet their basic necessities.

She further added that the owner of the generators had communicated to the subscribers that there is a threat of discontinuation of work because of the continuing fuel crisis, which will deprive thousands of families from their only source of electricity.

Furthermore, she said that the price of refilling a barrel of water had shot up to 15,000 liras, along with an increase in internal transport fares to 25,000 liras, which were earlier just 15,000 liras.

On the other hand, Muhammad Ibrahim, a citizen, has stated that life is extremely hard at the moment, and the continuing rise in fuel prices will continue the crisis, whereas any reduction in the prices of diesel will positively affect all services.

He further said that the cost of pumping water is now costing more than 50 thousand liras, which has turned out to be an enormous financial burden on many households, particularly those containing a significant number of people.

He stated that the use of electric generators is completely dependent on diesel, and the high cost of transport has left many people unable to travel or transfer between governorates. He noted that the reduction of fuel prices could ease the seriousness of the living crisis.

The Fuel Directorate in al-Jazira region announced on June 21 an increase in the price of good fuel (which is subsidized for transport) from 450 Syrian pounds to 55 cents for each liter, while the price of free fuel was put at one dollar per liter, after being 5,650 Syrian pounds. The price of diesel for generators and public ovens was set at 125 Syrian pounds per liter, while the price of diesel in the free market was in the range of 75 and 88 cents per liter.

Recently, there has been a decline in the number of hours in which electric generators are running due to the lack of availability of fuel, whereas some generators were run again for some hours due to the availability of limited amounts of fuel to those owners, which means that the service and living crisis remained ongoing until a solution is found.

ANHA