In the 2021-22 Union Budget Session, the prices of petrol and diesel were increased. From the past few days succeeding the Budget the prices have been increasing, after the seventh consecutive hike in the rates of petrol and diesel the prices hit new records. The price of petrol in Delhi is close to Rs 89 per litre after the fresh hike of 26 paise.

In Mumbai, the price of normal petrol has crossed Rs 95 per litre, while petrol with additives has now crossed the Rs 100-mark in Maharashtra’s Parbhani district. Meanwhile, in Rajasthan’s Sri ganganagar town, petrol soared to ₹99.56 and diesel to ₹91.48 per litre. The fuel prices have been on the rise since February 9. In eight days, prices have gone up by ₹2.34 per litre for petrol and ₹2.57 for diesel. The relentless hike in prices resulted in a six-hour bandh Odisha which affected normal life in the state. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week had told Parliament that the government is not considering a reduction in excise duty to cool rates from their record highs.

 A recent post is going viral over the internet, several Facebook users have come across a post in which cars are stranded on the road. Sources claim that this is a picture from Germany, where people protested against fuel price hike by abandoning their vehicles in the middle of the road. The netizens are claiming that India should have same posts against the current ruling government for the incessantly increasing prices. The Hindi text superimposed on the image translates to, “In Germany, people abandoned their cars in the middle of the road to protest fuel price hike. After seeing 10 lakh cars standing still on the road, the German government reduced fuel prices.”

Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found this picture misleading and has  confirmed that  there have been several protests in Germany against fuel prices in the past, the picture used is of a massive traffic jam in China’s Shenzhen city in 2012. The picture caption says, “Traffic chaos during Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day celebrations in China – 30 Sep 2012. People stand next to their cars during a traffic jam in Shenzhen city, Guangdong province 30 Sep 2012”. In the original post the Chinese characters on signboards alongside the road are visible. Germany has witnessed protests against fuel price hike several times in the past. As per reports, traffic was brought to a standstill in some German cities in 2000 in protest against fuel price hike.

But the viral image is not related to any protest in Germany. It is of a massive traffic jam in 2012 in Shenzhen city in China’s Guangdong province.