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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.

Jarange-Patil, the ‘Wild Card’ in Marathwada’s Arena

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Jarange-Patil, the ‘Wild Card’ in Marathwada’s Arena

Manoj Jarange Patil, a name that barely registered in Maharashtra’s political arena until last August, has emerged as a formidable figure whose influence is undeniably palpable in the key Marathwada region. Jarange-Patil’s announcement of fielding candidates who would look after the interests of the Maratha community and his threat of pulling down those leaders opposed to it has thrown leaders of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, particularly the BJP, in a mighty fix.


The ‘Jarange factor’ was undeniably influential in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where candidates from the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Marathwada suffered significant losses. High-profile defeats included those of BJP leaders Raosaheb Danve (Jalna), Pankaja Munde (Beed), and Prataprao Chikhalikar (Nanded). As the Mahayuti still grapples with these electoral shocks, Jarange has cranked up the pressure, warning of fielding candidates across all 288 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.


His six hunger strikes since August last has ensured the Maratha quota issue is kept burning in public consciousness. Having demonstrated his disruptive capacity in the Lok Sabha election, leaders across party lines are frantically courting Jarange-Patil ahead of the Assembly polls to either seek his support or to plead for restraint in their campaigns.


As he prepares to take a final call on his ‘aspirants’ for the Assembly poll, Jarange-Patil’s aides claim that applications have flooded in from across Maharashtra, including former MLAs and candidates from both ruling and opposition parties. And not just Maratha candidates, but aspirants from reserved constituencies and OBCs as well – all of who are to be scrutinized before a decision is made by the activist on October 20.

Meanwhile, Jarange-Patil continues to target State BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with aggressive rhetoric. Notably, CM Eknath Shinde has managed to remain in the activist’s ‘good books.’


Not just Mahayuti and BJP leaders who are anxious for his support, but those from the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and other parties are scrambling to meet the activist.

In the past two months, several BJP leaders in Marathwada, out of trepidation for Jarange, have met him. Senior Congressman Prithviraj Chavan met him in August, while endorsing his demands. AIMIM leader Imtiyaz Jaleel recently met with Jarange Patil, proposing a potential Muslim-Maratha alliance as a transformative force in the elections.


This courtship of Jarange-Patil is not new: During seat-sharing talks ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Prakash Ambedkar had vexed the leadership of the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by demanding that Jarange-Patil be permitted to contest from the Jalna Lok Sabha seat.


Despite holding 26 of the 46 Assembly seats in Marathwada, the BJP had come a cropper in the Lok Sabha, underscoring the ferocity of the Maratha agitation backlash and Jarange-Patil’s elemental force in tipping the balance. As the clock ticks to November 20, Jarange-Patil’s authority indisputably looms large over Marathwada, transforming him into a one-man kingmaker capable of influencing the fate of established politicians and parties by banking solely on his influence within the Maratha community.

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