Widespread protest in State;
hotels to down shutters today
The LPG crisis in Kerala
intensified on Thursday after distribution agencies suspended delivery of
cylinders following the confusion over the steep price hike announced by
petroleum companies for non-subsidised cooking gas.Consumers across the State
were left high and dry as LPG bottling plants stopped operation, disrupting the
transport of cylinders.Signalling more misery for the public, hotels and
restaurants in Kerala will down shutters on Friday to protest against the LPG
price hike.
The 12-hour agitation has been
called by the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association. Bakeries will observe a
black day though they will remain open.Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily’s
assurance on a two-month extension for LPG consumers to link their Aadhaar
cards with bank accounts to avail of LPG subsidy has failed to clear the confusion
over the price rise or ease the crisis.Kerala witnessed widespread protests
over the steep increase in the price of non-subsidised LPG. In Alappuzha,
workers at gas agencies took out a march on the highway to signal their
protest. Leaders across the political spectrum came out against the petroleum
companies for the price hike.
Leader of the Opposition V.S.
Achuthanandan said he would write to the Centre seeking a rollback of the LPG
price. Criticising the decision to decontrol LPG pricing, Congress leader V.M.
Sudheeran urged the Central government to restore the administered price
mechanism.
No comments:
Post a Comment