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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.

An Inconvenient Murder

Updated: Feb 24, 2025

The killing of a whistleblower in Telangana revives scrutiny of KCR’s rule and the murky politics of the Kaleshwaram project.

Kaleshwaram
Telangana

The murder of Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy in Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally town has sent political shockwaves across the state. A little-known activist, Rajalingamurthy had filed a complaint in 2023 against former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and his nephew, T. Harish Rao, alleging large-scale corruption in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. His sudden and brutal killing has sparked accusations that it was an assassination designed to silence a whistleblower. The ruling Congress government has openly pointed fingers at the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), while the police maintain that his death resulted from a personal land dispute. Whatever the truth, his murder has cast a shadow over Telangana’s largest infrastructure project, reinforcing suspicions that the rot of corruption runs deep.


The Kaleshwaram project, once hailed as the world’s largest lift irrigation scheme, was supposed to be the crown jewel of KCR’s administration. The project was a symbol of Telangana’s rise as an independent state after its separation from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Launched with much fanfare, the Rs. 1.2 lakh crore ($14.4 billion) initiative promised to transform Telangana’s agrarian economy by supplying water to drought-prone areas. Instead, it has become a symbol of mismanagement, poor engineering, and alleged financial irregularities. Last year, a section of the Medigadda barrage, the centrepiece of the project, sank, raising concerns over faulty construction and prompting an inquiry into how public money was spent.


Rajalingamurthy was among those who sought legal intervention. When police refused to register an FIR, he approached a local court, which directed that his petition be considered. But BRS leaders swiftly acted to neutralize the legal threat, securing a stay from the Telangana High Court in December 2023. That did not deter Rajalingamurthy, who continued to speak out, earning powerful enemies in the process.


On the night of February 19, two assailants attacked Rajalingamurthy while he was riding his motorcycle, hitting him with an iron rod and fatally stabbing him. He died en route to the hospital. While the police initially dismissed political motives, the victim’s wife, Sarala, has claimed otherwise. She alleges that just days before his murder, her husband was threatened and offered Rs. 10 lakh to withdraw his corruption complaint against KCR. The Congress, quick to seize the opportunity, has echoed these claims, with state ministers accusing the BRS of orchestrating the killing to cover up its alleged financial crimes.


For its part, the BRS has denied any involvement, arguing that the murder stemmed from a land dispute. Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, a former BRS MLA whom the victim’s family has implicated, has refuted the allegations, insisting that Congress is politicizing the tragedy. The police have registered cases against four individuals based on Sarala’s complaint but have yet to establish a political link.


Telangana has seen its share of political vendettas. The Congress’s accusations against the BRS follow a familiar script, one that KCR himself used when he was in power. The BRS, now in opposition, claims it is being unfairly targeted. Yet the party has provided little clarity on the corruption allegations against it. The Medigadda barrage collapse remains a damning indictment of its governance, and the Congress-led government’s inquiry into the project’s irregularities is expected to reveal more in the coming weeks.


For now, the murder of Rajalingamurthy remains unresolved. If it was indeed a politically motivated assassination, it would not be the first time a whistleblower has been silenced in India. Either way, the ruling Congress must ensure a thorough and impartial investigation. The Kaleshwaram project deserves scrutiny, and those responsible for any wrongdoing must be held accountable. If the BRS has nothing to hide, it should welcome the probe. Until then, suspicions will linger, and so will the fear that in Telangana, those who challenge the powerful do so at great personal risk.

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