Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday called on the Union govt to ensure adequate LPG availability and protect consumers from rising cooking gas prices, warning that continued shortages could severely impact households and the state’s food service industry.In a statement, Vijayan said concerns over cooking gas availability had been mounting across the country amid the ongoing conflict in Middle East. He noted that a recent hike in LPG prices had already strained household budgets, while reports of shortages were coming in from various parts of Kerala. The situation, he added, had been further aggravated by a restriction limiting domestic LPG bookings to once every 27 days. “The uncertainty in LPG availability could even affect the service sector, including hotels and restaurants in the state,” Vijayan said.The chief minister flagged that a significant share of Kerala’s workforce travels between districts for employment and the state also hosts a large migrant labour population from other states, many of whom depend on hotels and restaurants for daily meals. If the gas supply disruption persisted, he warned, many such establishments could be forced to suspend operations.Against this backdrop, Vijayan wrote to Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri, urging immediate central intervention. “Due to the shortage of LPG cylinders, hotel and restaurant associations have informed us that many establishments may not be able to function normally. The hardship caused to the public will be substantial,” he wrote. Vijayan requested that the Centre take steps to ensure a steady supply of LPG at affordable prices for both households and establishments, including through budgetary subsidy support if required.CPM blames Centre for LPG crisis: CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that Centre failed to ensure mandatory reserve stock of LPG and CPM would organize protest programmes across Kerala as Centre was burdening people further by increasing the price of LPG.“Centre failed to take steps to prevent this emergency. Centre failed to follow the international protocol of maintaining 80 days of LPG reserve,” he said.
