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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western...

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) spokesperson Pradeep Shetty.   “We are in continuous touch with the concerned authorities, but the situation is very gloomy. There is no response from the Centre or the Ministry of Petroleum on when the situation will ease. We fear that more than 50 pc of all eateries in Mumbai will soon down the shutters. The same will apply to the rest of the state and many other parts of India,” Shetty told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   The shortage of commercial LPG has badly affected multiple sectors, including the hospitality and food industries, mass private or commercial kitchens and even the laundry businesses, industry players said.   At their wits' ends, many restaurateurs resorted to the reliable old iron ‘chulhas’ (stoves) fired by either coal or wood - the prices of which have also shot up and result in pollution - besides delaying the cooking.   Anticipating a larger crisis, even domestic LPG consumers besieged retail dealers in Mumbai, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Akola, Nagpur to book their second cylinder, with snaky queues in many cities. The stark reality of the 12-days old Gulf war with the disturbed supplies has hit the people and industries in the food supply chains that feed crores daily.   “The ordinary folks leave home in the morning after breakfast, then they rely on the others in the food chain for their lunch or dinner. Many street retailers have also shut down temporarily,” said Shetty.   Dry Snacks A quick survey of some suburban ‘khau gullies’ today revealed that the available items were mostly cold sandwiches, fruit or vegetable salads, cold desserts or ice-creams, cold beverages and packed snacks. Few offered the regular ‘piping hot’ foods that need elaborate cooking, or charging higher than normal menu rates, and even the app-based food delivery system was impacted.   Many people were seen gloomily munching on colorful packets of dry snacks like chips, chivda, sev, gathiya, samosas, etc. for lunch, the usually cheerful ‘chai ki dukaans’ suddenly disappeared from their corners, though soft drinks and tetrapaks were available.   Delay, Scarcity  Maharashtra LPG Dealers Association President Deepak Singh yesterday conceded to “some delays due to supply shortages” of commercial cylinders, but assured that there is no scarcity of domestic cylinders.   “We are adhering to the Centre’s guidelines for a 25 days booking period between 2 cylinders (domestic). The issue is with commercial cylinders but even those are available though less in numbers,” said Singh, adding that guidelines to prioritise educational institutions, hospitals, and defence, are being followed, but others are also getting their supplies.   Despite the assurances, Shetty said that the current status is extremely serious since the past week and the intermittent disruptions have escalated into a near-total halt in supplies in many regions since Monday.   Adding to the dismal picture is the likelihood of local hoteliers associations in different cities like Pune, Palghar, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and more resorting to tough measures from Thursday, including temporary shutdown of their outlets, which have run out of gas stocks.

After Raj, Athawale calls Ambedkar to join hands

Mumbai: While Raj Thackeray indicated at probability of an alliance with Uddhav Thackeray, union minister Ramdas Athawale too has made an appeal to Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar to come together for unification of the Dalit movement in Maharashtra.


“The Republican Party, of which I’m the president today, was founded by Babasaheb Ambedkar. The party is spreading very well across the country. But, the community expects us to come together. They feel our coming together shall unite and strengthen the Dalit movement. I am ready for that. Balasaheb (Prakash Ambedkar) should run the party founded by Babsaheb,” Athawale, who was interacting with media at Latur, said when asked about the unification of the Dalit movement in Maharashtra.


He appealed Ambedkar to close down the VBA and join the Republican Party.


“I’m also ready to vacate my ministership. Let him be the minister if he wishes so. I shall run the party,” Athawale said.


The union minister, however, criticized Raj Thackeray over his party’s stand on the state government’s decision to start teaching Hindi from class 1 in schools.


“We too are proud of Marathi. But, that doesn’t mean we would oppose any decision of the government to teach any other language. The government should not tolerate such bullying behaviour of the MNS,” Athawale said and added that the CM and the DCM should stop visiting Thackeray’s home.


“The CM should note that the MNS has been bullying the people coming to Maharashtra from other states. After a certain limit the people start replying to bullying with counter bullying,” Athawale said and added that the CM should note that the Mahayuti shall never benefit by cosying up with Raj Thackeray.


While squarely stating that Raj Thackeray has no role in Mahayuti, Athawale said, “During Lok Sabha elections he was with Mahayuti. What was the result? Mahayuti couldn’t show the requisite performance. But, during Vidhan Sabha election when the MNS was not part of the Mahayuti, the alliance got 237 seats,” Athawale said while pointing out that Raj Thackeray’s presence harms electoral prospects of the Mahayuti.


While explaining his point further, the union minister also said that the bullying of the MNS might adversely affect the Mumbai’s status as financial capital of India. “We too are proud of Marathi. We also feel that everybody should learn Marathi. But, that doesn’t mean bullying should be allowed in the name of language. One also needs to understand that bullying might also hamper the economic might of the city,” he said.


The union minister also termed Raj Thackeray as an ‘event management leader’. “He only manages to organize good events. He can’t fetch votes. Hence he shouldn’t harm the larger good of Maharashtra,” Athawale said.


In reply to other questions, the union minister also praised the film on Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and said that it is not against any caste but, depicts the life story of the social reformer.


“Phule cinema is not against any caste or religion. It is a film that narrates the history. No one should misunderstand the film by watching the trailer. Everyone will be satisfied if they watch the film in full. Phule cinema is an attempt to bring forth the plight of the Dalit community and give justice to the oppressed class. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had said that those who forget history cannot create history. Therefore, the audience will get to see the history of Mahatma Phule’s revolution through this film,” Athawale said.

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