India Urges Citizens to Save Fuel amid Middle East Conflict

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Laurentiu Morariu

JAKARTA - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to reduce fuel consumption through efforts such as working from home as rising tensions in the Middle East continue to push up global energy prices.

"During the Corona virus period, we implemented work from home, online meetings, video conferences, and developed many such systems," Modi said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Monday, May 11.

"We are also used to these things," he continued.

According to Modi, currently these practices are what is needed for the national interest and a priority.

"Gasoline and diesel have become very expensive around the world," Modi said, adding "it is the responsibility of all of us to save the foreign exchange spent on buying gasoline and diesel, by saving on the use of these fuels".

Modi also urged people to avoid buying gold for weddings for a year as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary spending.

He then called on the public to reduce the consumption of cooking oil and encourage farmers to reduce their dependence on imported chemical fertilizers.

"We must reduce the consumption of chemical fertilizers by half and switch to natural agriculture," he said.

"In this way, we can save foreign exchange and protect our agriculture and Mother Earth," he added.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel and US allies in the Gulf.

The Strait of Hormuz, a major global waterway through which about 20 percent of global oil shipments pass, has also been seriously disrupted by the conflict.