Ahmedabad: At Civil Hospital on Monday evening, officials and volunteers of Shree Jaliyan Annakshetra prepared dinner for around 300 relatives of patients admitted to hospitals on the campus, even as cooking gas supplies remain disrupted across the city and state.“In the past few days, we saw a rise in the number of persons we serve. We are on the last gas cylinder, but we hope to get a steady supply of cylinders. We already made a representation to the state govt,” said Ketan Chawda of the NGO. He said the organisation may shift to wood-fired cooking if LPG supplies are not restored. “If the supply is not resumed, we may switch to wood fire, as the work must go on,” he said. NGOs providing free meals to hospital attendants, slum residents and other underprivileged groups said their services have not been hit yet, but many are relying on govt assurances of regular LPG supply to continue operations. Hingad Janseva Trust, which also serves relatives of patients at Civil Hospital, said it seeks govt support whenever its LPG stock runs low. The trust distributes roti, sabzi, dal and rice through a pass-based system. “We usually file a plea through a written application when our cylinders run out. The govt supplies them after that, and during the waiting period we manage by arranging cylinders through relatives or sometimes by cooking on wood-fired chulhas,” said Vikas Jain, trustee of the NGO. Other organizations that collect meals and tiffins from citizens and distribute them through volunteer networks said they have not seen any decline in supply so far and continue to deliver hundreds of meals every day.
