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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.

Mumbai’s Saffron Siblings

Updated: Nov 15, 2024

Saffron Siblings

As the Mumbai BJP president for two terms, groomed by the RSS and a staunch BJP leader, Ashish Shelar would be an unlikely choice for those who don’t fall into the typical saffron-voter category. But Ashish Shelar is an exception. He’s won the confidence of his electorate, people from diverse religions and socio-economic strata. His office in the crowded Bandra Reclamation area sees a steady stream of visitors every day; people cutting across religions and communities, age groups and with varied requests. If someone complains of harassment, a hapless father is there to ask for money for his son’s medical treatment and a young businessman is there to complain against rampant tree cutting in Bandra. Shelar lends each of them a ear, instructing his office to follow up on the demands. For years, this has been Ashish Shelar’s routine, particularly since he first won the legislative assembly elections in 2014 and has continued his winning spree since then. Before that, Shelar has been a member of the legislative council and was also a corporator from Khar who took a keen interest in resolving civic issues.


His constituency is peculiar in the varied demographics—upscale tony neighbourhoods that house leading film stars and business families, fishing villages, slums and middle class homes, each with its varied needs. In 2019, he was made Minister of School Education, Sports and Youth Welfare for a short period in the Devendra Fadnavis government.


Most residents of Bandra West credit him with organising social events and festivals that celebrate music and the arts. His neighbourhood winter festival and the grand Christmas decorations along the sea at Bandra Reclamation have won the attention of people across Mumbai. An avid sports lover, he’s held the position of the President of the Mumbai Cricket Association and also the treasurer of the BCCI.


This time, his older brother Vinod is contesting from Malad West. He’s been a corporator between 2012 and 2017 and while he was overlooked by the party for the legislative assembly elections in 2014, Vinod has been working in the constituency for the past decade. He’s also a spokesperson of the BJP.


The Shelar brothers are among the siblings who are contesting the elections this time.

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