Parliament Budget Session: Opposition continues to protest, alleges LPG shortage

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 12 (ANI): Led by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders continued their protests in the Parliament premises over the reports of nationwide shortage of LPG gas cylinders on Thursday.
The INDIA bloc leaders have sought a discussion on the reported shortage of LPG amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The LPG shortage crisis has also hit many parts of the country.
With the reports of LPG shortage crisis, Restaurants have switched to induction cooking to keep things running in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal due to the global impact of the Military escalation in the Middle East, as Iran continues to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Inductions are being used at Sagar Gaire Fast Food here instead of the traditional cooking methods to keep going.
Dolraj Gaire, owner of the food outlet, told ANI that they are coping with the situation and have completed most of their work and are expecting to wrap up the rest soon.
"... We are trying to make it work in induction. We have already done 60% of our work in induction, and the remaining 10-20% will be solved in a couple of days once we get induction... Our entire commercial production is in induction... Our chefs and executives are all engaged..."
Gas shortage is hitting restaurants hard in Hyderabad. A restaurant owner said that the fuel shortage is affecting their business very much, and with wood prices allegedly skyrocketing, especially in Ramdhan, it is challenging.
A restaurant owner, Nadeem Quadri from MS Mandi Hyderabad, told ANI, "Today, due to the shortage of gas, we are cooking on wood. Almost all hotels in Telangana have already closed down because of the gas shortage. There is such a severe shortage that black market gas is happening, and besides gas, wood has also become very expensive. It is affecting our business a lot; we are serving people by cooking on wood at any cost. Even during this holy month of Ramadan, we are preparing food on wood and providing it to the public".
Nadeem said that with gas, work gets done quickly and easily. "With wood, one or two extra people are needed, and there is also more pollution in the restaurants. Cooking on wood also affects the interiors of the restaurant".
Meanwhile, the Centre said Domestic LPG production has increased by about 25 percent and the entire domestic LPG production is being directed towards household consumers.
The government said that for non-domestic LPG, priority is being given to essential sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions. (ANI)