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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.

Managing Medical Waste: How Thane’s Waste Facility Took Shape

What began as a simple idea has grown into a service that safeguards health and the environment across multiple districts.

In my earlier article, I explored the technologies and innovations shaping biomedical waste management in India — from advanced treatment plants such as Srjanam at AIIMS, New Delhi, to the grassroots efforts of Thane’s Enviro-Vigil NGO. These examples highlighted what was possible at a national and institutional level, showing how both high-tech interventions and community-driven initiatives are vital in addressing this complex challenge.


This time, I turn the lens closer to home to share our own journey in Thane. What began with limited experience but a strong resolve gradually evolved into a fully operational biomedical waste facility. From acquiring land and equipment to earning the trust of hospitals and doctors, the path was long and often difficult. Yet, with persistence, partnerships, and steady community support, we were able to transform a simple idea into a functioning service that today manages biomedical waste across multiple districts, touching the lives of thousands.


To collect and transport waste from hospitals, we made the decision to build our own fleet of vehicles. These were purchased one by one and converted as per the specifications provided by the authorities, ensuring that they were used exclusively for biomedical waste transportation. Each vehicle was equipped with GPS tracking so that movements could be monitored, adding transparency and accountability to our operations.


Meanwhile, our office was ready. We employed a few young and qualified people to run it. As operators and service providers, we had to charge fees to hospitals as per the rules. Convincing the doctors and occupiers about these charges was not easy, and we faced strong opposition.


However, through the timely intervention of the highly respected surgeon, the late Dr H. S. Bhanushali, and the strong networking efforts of Dr Vikas Hajirnis, we managed to persuade most doctors, who eventually joined our facility. Until 2006, only a few hundred hospitals were registered with us. But as our genuine efforts to handle hospital waste efficiently and protect the environment gained recognition, our membership steadily grew.


The MPCB later permitted us to collect waste from hospitals within a 150 km radius. Our services expanded to Vasai-Virar, Nalasopara, Mira-Bhayandar, and further to Pen, Alibag, Murud-Janjira, Khopoli, and Pali. Within a few years, the number of registered hospitals and clinics grew to over 3,500 by 2010.


With this expansion, the volume of waste increased significantly, and we had to hire additional staff to operate our machinery. A few qualified engineers also joined the team. By 2022, we had over 60 employees working exclusively for the biomedical waste treatment facility, alongside our office staff. What began as a service soon turned into a profit-making venture, far beyond our expectations.


Throughout this journey, we remained committed to educating and sensitising young minds about environmental challenges. We established a School of Environment for children and citizens and launched a monthly publication, Aapla Paryavaran. Several awareness campaigns, activities, and competitions followed, conducted in innovative ways. Our biomedical waste treatment facility provided strong financial support to run all these social initiatives.


In [year], we organised a two-day International Conference for SAARC countries, exclusively on Biomedical Waste Management, in collaboration with Thane Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. It was a great success.


During the historical flooding on 26th July 2005, the common biomedical facility established for the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation was completely submerged and had to shut down. We took on the responsibility of treating hospital waste from KDMC’s jurisdiction for almost three months until their facility was restored. There are many such instances where we stepped forward to fulfil our social and moral responsibilities.


Our facility was also the first hospital waste management centre in India to be recognised with ISO 9001 certification—twice, in 2005 and 2008. We went on to receive the Good Green Governance (G-Cube) Award from Srishti Publications, New Delhi, on two occasions.


Hold on… more interesting stuff to come. Till then, have a great weekend!


(The author is an environmentalist. Views Personal.)

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