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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.

Discord and Doubts

Updated: Nov 25, 2024

MVA

With barely 48 hours left for the results of the fiercely contested Assembly polls, serious cracks seem to be appearing within the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Solapur in western Maharashtra. A bitter feud has erupted between the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), raising questions about the coalition’s unity throughout the election and its ability to challenge the BJP’s formidable machinery.


The Solapur South assembly seat has become a theatre of major discord within the MVA, strongly reminiscent of the bickering between the Congress and the Sena (UBT) over the Sangli Lok Sabha seat during the parliamentary election in May this year.


On polling day on November 20, Congress veteran Sushilkumar Shinde and his daughter, Solapur MP Praniti Shinde, threw their weight behind Dharmaraj Kadadi, an independent candidate, instead of supporting Amar Patil, the Sena (UBT)’s nominee who was the official MVA candidate.


Shinde justified his move citing Kadadi’s strong local connect and the Congress’ historical dominance in the constituency, while taking a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT)’s “unfounded claim” over the seat – a replay of the Sangli fiasco during the Lok Sabha.


Predictably, this drew sharp reactions from the Shiv Sena (UBT) with the Thackeray camp accusing Praniti Shinde of ‘betrayal,’ with party deputy leader Sharad Koli leading a vitriolic attack, calling for her expulsion from the MVA alliance. Koli went as far as alleging that Shinde had received BJP backing for her decision.


The Sena (UBT) is seething with rage at the Shindes’ behaviour given that Uddhav Thackeray had vigorously campaigned for Praniti during the Lok Sabha.


The fallout is emblematic of the MVA’s coordination problems and is particularly glaring given that a section of exit polls seem to favour the ruling Mahayuti on counting day of November 23.


Be that as may, exit polls have been frequently – and spectacularly – wrong in recent times, as evinced in the recent Haryana election result.


Meanwhile, the big question in another corner of western Maharashtra - Pimpri-Chinchwad, a former NCP stronghold is whether Deputy CM Ajit Pawar - is whether the Mahayuti have succeeded in controlling schisms within their fold.


Known for its history of electing strong independents, this industrial belt in Pune district has always been a political wildcard. However, for the first time in 15 years, this election saw the Bhosari and Chinchwad Assembly constituencies lack formidable independent contenders - a development that could lead to unpredictable outcomes.


In Chinchwad, NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Nana Kate, initially set to run as an independent, withdrew under party pressure. Similarly, in Bhosari, former corporator Ravi Landge, now with Shiv Sena (UBT), also stepped back. However, Bhausaheb Bhoir, a Mahayuti rebel, contested as an independent.


In the Chinchwad seat, the contest is between the BJP’s Shankar Jagtap (brother of deceased Chinchwad strongman Laxman Jagtap) and Rahul Kalate of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).


Jagtap was contesting the assembly election for the first time while Kalate had twice contested the election unsuccessfully. Will the independent Bhoir queer the Mahayuti’s pitch?


In Bhosari, BJP MLA Mahesh Landge faced a tough battle against his rival and relative, Ajit Gavhane of the NCP (SP), who appeared to make late gains in Landge’s stronghold.


As the votes are counted on November 23, the results in this belt will depend on how well the Mahayuti has managed the byzantine intrigue in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

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