No LPG shortage in state: Minister | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: There is no shortage of LPG cylinders for domestic consumers in the state, said food and civil supplies minister Krushna Chandra Patra while asking people not to panic on Monday.He informed that the govt has started providing 40% of the commercial gas stock to restaurants and hotels across the state from Monday.“The state was already providing 20% of the commercial gas stock to key sectors such as restaurants and hotels, and after Centre announced a 20% enhanced allocation to food establishments last week, the Odisha govt has started allocating a total of 40% of commercial cylinders to them from today,” he said while addressing mediapersons.The Centre has also assured an additional commercial LPG allocation of 10% to the sector, subject to commercial establishments registering with oil companies and applying for a piped natural gas connection. “We are currently preparing modalities for this additional 10% allocation,” the minister said, adding that nearly 50% of the commercial gas demand will be met for hotels and restaurants in the state soon.The announcement comes following complete disruption of commercial cylinders for hotels and restaurants to prioritise supplies to household kitchens. Currently, those running food establishments are resorting to buying commercial LPG cylinders from black market at Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500. While some have closed their units owing to their inability to procure commercial cylinders at such high rates, others have adapted to traditional cooking methods using firewood and coal. At almost all the eateries, prices of LPG-intensive dishes have been hiked to meet the operational costs.Patra said there has been no disruption in gas distribution to domestic consumers. “The domestic LPG supply has remained stable and the public has been advised against panic buying. People are receiving their quota of LPG after booking, and any complaints of delay in LPG supply are being examined by officials of the department,” he said.
