top of page

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.

Don’t arrest Kamra: SC

Mumbai: Spelling relief, the Bombay High Court has granted interim protection against arrest to standup comedian Kunal Kamra till further orders in his plea to quash a Mumbai Police FIR on his ‘gaddar’ comments directed against Deputy CM and Shiv Sena President Eknath Shinde.

The order by Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Shriram Modak came after conclusion of arguments and a day before Kamra’s interim bail plea hearing is scheduled before the Madras High Court on April 17.


The division bench noted that since the prosecution had agreed that the summons to Kamra are under Sec. 35(3) which specifically states that arrest of the person is not required, the petitioner (Kamra) shall not be nabbed till orders on his plea.


Earlier on April 7, the Bombay HC had continued the interim protection granted to Kamra till April 16 (today), in tune with the Madras HC’s similar relief to the comedian till April 17 (tomorrow), in his plea for transit anticipatory bail against the Mumbai Police’s FIR.


Kamra’s counsel Navroz Seervai had forcefully argued that the comedy show clip fell within the Freedom of Speech under the Constitution Art. 19 (1)(a), and not within the exception to the freedom of speech.


Relying on the recent Supreme Court case involving Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi versus the State of Gujarat on the issue of Freedom of Speech, Seervai contended that the FIR against Kamra was an attempt by the State (Maharashtra) at the behest of a political party (complainant Shiv Sena MLA Murji K. Patel), intended to harass an artist.


He referred to the haste with which the FIR was registered soon after (Patel’s) complaint on the night of March 23, the police did not apply their mind while lodging the FIR, and the person allegedly defamed (Shinde) did not file any complaint.


After the show and its violent fallout, Seervai said that Kamra received several death threats from the ruling Mahayuti ally Shiv Sena and despite that, the police insisted on his personal appearance for the investigations.

Comments

bottom of page