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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.

Intra-alliance battles catch attention

Mumbai: Mahayuti and Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are going head-to-head in the Assembly Elections making the battle chaotic. Despite official candidates being declared by both the alliances, there is a huge difference of opinions within the alliances even after the date of withdrawal of nomination has surpassed. In several constituencies, the allies have fielded their candidates against each other. Reasons behind this kind of infighting within the alliance could be multiple ranging from independent political aspirations, ego clashes, ideological differences, no will to let go hold over a particular region, political rivalry, so on and so forth. Bottomline is that close to two weeks ahead of the Assembly battle, MVA and Mahayuti have multiple official contenders within their respective alliances.

Here are a few key constituencies that form classic examples explaining the tricky situation.


Intra-alliance battles

Mankhurd-Shivajinagar, Mumbai

Nawab Malik (NCP) vs Suresh Patil (Shiv Sena)

Suresh ‘Bullet’ Patil was the first to bag the ticket. The NCP breached the alliance dharma by fielding Nawab Malik. This constituency also sees three-term incumbent MLA Abu Asim Azmi as a Samajwadi Party candidate supported by the MVA.



Intra-alliance battles

Anushaktinagar, Mumbai

Sana Malik (NCP) vs Tukaram Kate (Shiv Sena)

Sana, daughter of Nawab Malik, was the official Mahayuti candidate. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde fielded Tukaram Kate breaching the alliance’s understanding. Kate had won from this constituency in 2014 but lost to Nawab Malik in 2019.



Intra-alliance battles

Deolali, Nashik

Saroj Ahire (NCP) vs Rajshree Ahirrao (Shiv Sena)

There is a fierce battle between two Mahayuti candidates here. Both are claiming that they deserved the candidature.




Intra-alliance battles

Morshi, Amaravati

Devendra Bhuyar (NCP) vs Umesh Yawalkar (BJP)

An Independent Devendra Bhuyar had clinched victory in 2019 from Morshi. This time, Bhuyar is an official candidate of the NCP. Since the BJP has been traditionally fighting from this seat the party has fielded Umesh Yawalkar against the alliance’s understanding.



Intra-alliance battles

Aashti, Beed

Suresh Dhas (BJP) vs Balasaheb Ajbe (NCP)

The BJP and NCP both are fighting elections from this constituency traditionally. None of them was willing to withdraw. Hence, they are pitted against each other.


Intra-alliance battles

Purandar, Pune

Vijay Shivtare (Shiv Sena) vs Sambhaji Jhende (NCP)

The NCP’s candidature in this constituency is an outcome of its arch rivalry against Vijay Shivtare. Both of them want to settle personal scores in this constituency. In 2019, Congress’ Sanjay Jagtap had won this seat by defeating Purandare.



Sangola, Solapur

Deepak Salunkhe (Shiv Sena, UBT) vs Babasaheb Deshmukh (PWP)

The PWP has been traditionally contesting from this constituency. Babasaheb Deshmukh’s grandfather the late Ganpatrao Deshmukh represented Sangola for record 11 times. His grandson staked his claim but Shiv Sena (UBT) has a different plan.

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