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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.

Fadnavis has assets of Rs 13 cr

In his sixth Assembly election, the DCM looks accommodative


Fadnavis

Nagpur: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday declared movable and immovable assets worth Rs 13,27,47,728 in the affidavit filed along with his nomination papers from Nagpur South West seat for the November 20 assembly polls.


As per his tax return forms, his total income stood at Rs 79,30,402 in 2023-24, while it was Rs 92,48,094 in 2022-23.


Fadnavis declared movable assets of Rs 56,07,867 in his name, Rs 6,96,92,748 in his wife Amruta Fadnavis’ name as well as Rs 10,22,113 in his daughter Divija’s name. As per his poll affidavit, the senior BJP leader has Rs 23,500 cash in hand, while this figure is Rs 10,000 in the case of his wife.


His deposits in bank accounts, including term deposits and deposits in financial institutions, NBFCs and cooperative societies, is Rs 2,28,760, while that of his wife stands at Rs 1,43,717.


Fadnavis has not invested in bonds, debentures, shares and mutual funds but has invested Rs 20,70,607 in NSS, postal savings, insurance policies and financial instruments.


His wife has invested Rs 5,62,59,031 in bonds, debentures, shares and mutual funds, as per the affidavit.

Fadnavis has declared that he has 450 grams gold ornaments worth Rs 32,85,000, while this figure is Rs 65,70,000 (900 grams) for his wife.


The Deputy CM has declared immovable assets of Rs 4,68,96,000 in his name, including agricultural land in Chandrapur, residential building in Dharampeth in Nagpur and several other properties and Rs 95,29,000 in the name of his wife.


Fadnavis has taken loan of Rs 62,00,000 from his wife and has no other loans from banks or financial institutions or pending dues.


He and his wife do not have any vehicle registered in their names.


The senior BJP leader has mentioned that he has four FIRs and four pending cases against his name.

‘Ladki Bahin’ enough to defeat opponents Devendra Fadnavis on Friday filed his nomination from the Nagpur South-West assembly constituency for the November 20 state elections.


Addressing a rally before filing the papers, he said the Mahayuti government’s work speaks for itself, and hit out at the opposition parties, saying the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme and its beneficiaries were enough to defeat them.


This is his sixth assembly election. He has been an MLA for the past 25 years starting 1999.


Before filing his nomination form, Fadnavis visited Union minister and former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari’s residence here. Both the BJP leaders then paid floral tributes to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue at the Sanvidhan square in the city, followed by a roadshow from there till Akashvani square.


Addressing a gathering at the end of the roadshow, Fadnavis said, “Our work speaks louder than our words. People can see the development in Nagpur -- be it Nagpur Metro Rail, Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway or other development projects that have changed the face of Nagpur.”


The work carried out by the BJP in the last seven-and-a-half years in the state and by the Centre in the last 10 years, has changed the face of Nagpur, he said.


“I won’t talk about the opposition parties as our Ladki Bahin (scheme and its beneficiaries) is enough for them. Congress leaders Sunil Kedar and Nana Patole even tried to stop the Ladki Bahin Yojana by filing a petition in Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court,” he added.


Ladki Bahin is a flagship scheme of the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government, under which eligible women get a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month.


The Mahayuti government changed the picture of Vidarbha through several projects, including the Gosikhurd irrigation projects, development of Nagpur and Amravati airport and other works.


“The Mahayuti government is creating a new Maharashtra under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is creating a new India,” Fadnavis said. He said his government issued 48 Government Resolutions (GR) for the welfare of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, and challenged the Congress to show even one such GR issued during its term. It has also worked for the tribal community and all other sections of the society, he said. Addressing the gathering earlier, Gadkari said what the Congress could not do in 60 years, the Mahayuti government has done in Nagpur and Maharashtra under the leadership of Fadnavis and PM Modi.

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