top of page

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.

Railways blame passengers

Mumbai/Thane: The mishap at Mumbra railway station on Monday morning that killed four and injured nine occurred as the passengers standing on the footboard of two suburban trains brushed against each other, causing thirteen to fall, a Thane railway police station official said.


The incident took place at kilometre marker 40/304 to 306 (signifying distance of 40 kilometres from Central Railway headquarters Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) at 9:01am between platforms number three and four of Mumbra station, a release from Thane railway police station said.


"The trains involved were the CSMT-Karjat Down Fast local and the Kasara-CSMT Up Fast local. As the two trains passed each other at high speed, passengers hanging out of the coaches on footboards collided, causing thirteen of them to fall onto the tracks and nearby areas," the release said.


Emergency teams from Thane Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) as well as passengers in the vicinity responded to provide relief and rushed the victims to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, it said.


Two severely injured passengers were shifted to Jupiter Hospital for brain surgery and other advanced medical treatment, while the bodies of the four deceased were sent for post mortem, the police official said.


Seven injured passengers continue to be treated at CSM Hospital in Kalwa, the government railway police release added.


"The Thane Railway Police is investigating the incident and taking appropriate legal action," the GRP stated in its release.


Eye witness account

Earlier, an eyewitness to the horrific suburban railway mishap said the chain of events began after someone in the coach ahead of his either fell after hitting a wall or "something hit our compartment".


This eyewitness, a Bhiwandi resident, had boarded the Kasara-CSMT train at Kalyan station.


"The incident happened when the train reached Mumbra station. Someone from the coach ahead of ours fell off after hitting a wall or something hit our coach. At that time, three-four people from our coach fell down and some from other coaches also fell. I think 7-8 persons lost balance and fell onto the tracks," he said.


He said his friend Rehan Shaikh (26), who was coming from Kalyan to Thane, was injured in the accident.


In the morning, the passenger flow in Mumbai's suburban network is towards the south of the metropolis where a majority of the offices are located. The flow reverses in the evening as people start leaving for home towards Thane and beyond on the Central Railway network and Andheri and beyond on Western Railway.


The morning and evening rush hours in the network are among the densest in the world.

Comments

bottom of page