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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 Urban Showdown

In Pune’s well-heeled Kothrud constituency, a triangular contest is brewing ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. With traffic snarls, infrastructure gaps, and competing claims of development, the race for Kothrud’s assembly seat is set to be a high-stakes contest.


The battle for Kothrud is essentially a reflection of the larger tension between political promises and the practical demands of urban governance.


Chandrakant Patil, the sitting BJP minister and candidate, faces serious challenges from both the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Once a BJP stronghold, Kothrud has witnessed dramatic shifts over the years—none more significant than Patil’s controversial rise to the seat in 2019. Despite being considered an ‘outsider’ from Kolhapur, Patil triumphed over the MNS’s Kishor Shinde by a comfortable margin, thanks in part to his party’s well-oiled election machine and a divided opposition. This time around, however, Patil, a former Maharashtra BJP president, may find the going tougher.


For Chandrakant Mokate, the Sena (UBT) nominee, this election is a homecoming of sorts. A former MLA from Kothrud, Mokate, who represented the constituency until 2014, believes his deep roots in the area will resonate with voters who feel disconnected from the present administration.


Kothrud is a constituency in crisis. While the region boasts some of Pune’s most sought-after real estate, including the upscale areas of Baner, Pashan, and Balewadi, its infrastructure is sorely lacking.

The area’s roads are perpetually clogged, and footpaths are almost non-existent in many stretches, leaving pedestrians to risk life and limb on busy thoroughfares. With frequent roadworks for utilities and delayed construction projects, local residents are increasingly frustrated.


Take, for example, the Baner Pashan Link Road and Paud Road - both notorious for frequent traffic jams. The district’s ongoing struggles with garbage management also reflect deeper systemic issues.

Despite a shift in the garbage depot from Kothrud several years ago, residents complain of chronic sanitation problems.


Amid these frustrations, BJP’s Patil is staking his claim on the state government’s track record, touting welfare schemes that have been implemented across Maharashtra. As his strongest rival, Mokate is not so easily swayed. The former MLA asserts that a focus on basic infrastructure and development is needed before voters will return to the BJP fold.


Not to be outdone, MNS’s Kishor Shinde - re-nominated after his previous defeat - has made civic issues his central plank. Having served as a corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation, Shinde claims the pace of development in Kothrud has been haphazard and poorly managed.

Encroachments and unchecked growth are major issues that need urgent attention, Shinde argues, positioning himself as the candidate of reform.


The contest, however, is not just about infrastructure. Kothrud’s voters, many of whom are upper-caste Brahmins, have long leaned towards pro-Hindutva politics. In a constituency where saffron support runs deep, all three contenders - Patil, Mokate, and Shinde - are competing for the same ideological ground.

As the election approaches, the pressure on Patil is mounting. Once seen as the BJP’s golden boy, he now faces a tough task of managing a city that is still grappling with its growing pains.

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