Navi Mumbai: A restaurant based inside the APMC wholesale market complex in Vashi has been using firewood instead of LPG fuel for cooking for the past seven years.While there has been panic booking for LPG cylinders in the past few days by citizens and hoteliers, the owner of Jagdamb Restaurant, Rushi Shinde, said that since he uses wood for cooking, he is not bothered about the short supply of LPG. “I regularly use wood logs obtained from Satara for our daily cooking. We have not opted for the commercial 19 kg gas cylinders because often when their availability is erratic, it affects our business,” said Shinde. When asked if the burning of firewood causes smoke and irritation, Shinde said, “We are using a chimney to disperse the smoke. If NMMC can provide us with a piped gas connection, then we will stop using firewood.” Activist B N Kumar of the NatConnect Foundation said, “It is not good to use firewood for cooking when the smokeless option of LPG is there. Long usage of firewood not only causes air pollution but also puts more trees on the chopping block to obtain more wood.”
