BENGALURU: Food and civil supplies minister Rizwan Arshad urged Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri to expedite new domestic LPG connections, citing around 36,000 pending applications in Karnataka. Arshad said the process had stalled following the global LPG crisis.He flagged the price difference between domestic and 5kg cylinders, which he said made the latter difficult to afford for middle-class and economically weaker families. He urged the Centre to prioritise Karnataka’s requirements and direct oil marketing companies to issue connections to eligible households.Arshad warned that refusing new domestic LPG connections may lead to illegal activities. Incidentally, based on a complaint by food inspector Prasanna Kumar C, Bagalagunte police in Bengaluru North filed an FIR against one Prashanth of Bhairaveshwara Enterprises in T Dasarahalli for illegally storing LPG cylinders.The accused is said to have failed to produce bills related to purchase of 528 cylinders from both oil marketing and private firms. All cylinders were seized.
