Bhopal: Congress protests LPG shortage, distributes coal to shopkeepers

Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders staged a protest in Bhopal against an alleged LPG cylinder shortage. They distributed coal packets to shopkeepers in the Govindpura area who had to shut their shops due to a lack of commercial cylinders.

Madhya Pradesh Congress staged a protest against the alleged shortage of LPG cylinders in Bhopal on Tuesday and raised concerns over difficulties faced by the public in getting the cylinders.

Congress leaders distributed coal to local shopkeepers by carrying it on handcarts to mark their protest on the occasion. They gave 5kg of coal each to various shopkeepers in the Govindpura area and requested them to run their shops, which were temporarily shut down due to a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.

Congress Alleges Hardship, Compares to Past Crises

Congress leader Ravindra Sahu Jhumarwala alleged that it was not the first instance when people were facing inconvenience and had to stand in queues. Previously, people faced similar difficulties and waited in long queues during demonetisation and during the COVID-19 pandemic period for Remdesivir injections.

"Today, people across the country are standing in queues for LPG cylinders. Earlier 10 years ago as well, we had to stand in lines for cash withdrawal during demonetisation, then again during the COVID-19 pandemic for Remdesivir injections. Now, once again people are queuing up for gas cylinders. I want to assure the public that we stand with them in this hardship period and will always do so," Jhumarwala told ANI. He added, "Today, when shopkeepers do not have commercial LPG cylinders and are forced to shut their shop, I have brought here 5 kg coal packets for them and will tell them not to shut down their livelihoods. I assure women of this area as well that if they fail to get LPG cylinders, then I will provide coal packets to them too."

Government Responds to Shortage Claims

The Congress leader further accused the government of making false claims about the availability, citing that the public was still waiting in long queues for the LPG cylinders. The shortage of LPG has emerged amid global energy supply disruptions triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia; however, there have been no reports of dry-outs of gas supply at LPG distributorships across India, the government said in its latest update.

Despite concerns around LPG supply, there have been no reports of dry-outs of gas supply at LPG distributorships across India, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said in the inter-ministerial press briefing. (ANI)

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