Oppositions raised concerns over rising LPG crisis; questions India's strategy

Opposition leaders on Tuesday raised concerns over a growing LPG supply crisis in India linking the situation to the ongoing tensions in West Asia and demanding a detailed discussion in Parliament on the countryrsquos energy securityCongress MP Jebi Mather criticised the government over the reported shortage of cooking gas in several cities and questioned the lack of clarity on Indiarsquos strategy to tackle the crisisldquoThis is one of the crises we are currently facing Hoteliers in Karnataka Bengaluru Pune and Chennai have all reported that due to the LPG shortage they may have to close their hotelsrdquo she told IANSRaising questions about the governmentrsquos preparedness Mather added ldquoWhat is the plan President Donald Trump claims he has a plan for the energy crisis but what about us Are we going to depend on President Trumprsquos plan or do we have our own strategy to overcome this LPG shortage Has any concrete plan been laid out We have no clarityrdquoCongress MP Manish Tewari said the Opposition had moved an adjournment motion in Parliament to discuss the issue warning that the ongoing conflict in West Asia could have serious implications for Indiarsquos energy securityldquoThat is why we had moved an adjournment motion yesterday The war in West Asia and the Greater Middle East has serious implications for Indiarsquos energy security and its effects are already becoming visible The government has increased the LPG cylinder rate by Rs 55 Now shortages of cooking gas are being reported in Bengaluru Mumbai and other citiesrdquo Tewari saidAccording to reports India is currently facing disruptions in LPG supplies due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East particularly the conflict involving Iran Israel and the United States which has impacted shipments through the strategic Strait of HormuzThe situation has led to supply shortages in major cities such as Mumbai Bengaluru and Kolkata Reports suggest that domestic LPG refills now require a mandatory waiting period of up to 25 days while commercial supply to some restaurants has been temporarily haltedShiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also questioned the governmentrsquos claims regarding fuel reservesldquoDuring Question Hour in Parliament we were assured that if any disruption occurred India would not let the burden fall on its citizens Initially we were told there were 72 days of stock but later it was revealed that only 25 days of stock reserves were availablerdquo she told IANSMeanwhile Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji said the impact of the crisis was already visible on the ground ldquoIn a city like Ranchi there are long queues for LPG cylinders and at petrol pumps Therefore the government should take an important step on thisrdquo she saidCongress MP Mallu Ravi warned that the current shortage could worsen if the conflict in West Asia continues ldquoThe shortage is only the beginning of the effect of the war between Iran Israel and America That is why we wanted a discussion on how to prevent this shortage of cylindersrdquo he saidOpposition leaders have been pressing for a detailed debate in Parliament on the issue arguing that the evolving geopolitical situation could significantly impact Indiarsquos fuel supply and economic stabilityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever