MUMBAI: The LPG cylinder shortage has impacted devotees at the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, with the temple trust deciding to distribute only one laddu instead of the usual two. The trust has also proposed scaling down the canteen menu from the regular dal–rice meal to dal khichdi to manage the limited gas supply.
According to the trust, thousands of devotees come to Shirdi to pay their respects. “Daily, we sell 45,000 packets of Laddu while 50,000 Laddus are given free of cost to the devotees. Presently, we have an LPG cylinder stock for 10 to 12 days,” the trust stated.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s food and civil supply minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, said that they constituted the committees at district levels to ensure there is no shortage of LPG cylinders for domestic purposes.
“If there are technical issues in supplying the gas cylinders, then the district committees will look into it and resolve the issues. People should not panic and order more cylinders than the requirement. We have enough stock,” Bhujbal said.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also said there was no need to panic over the shortage of LPG cylinders, asserting that leaders of the Indian National Congress were fearmongering and creating unnecessary panic among people over the issue.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said that if there is no shortage of LPG cylinders, then why are videos of restaurants and hotels shutting down circulating, and why are people seen standing in long queues to get cylinders?
Modi constituency temple hit by gas crunch
Even Kashi, the parliamentary constituency of PM Narendra Modi, has been hit hard by the ongoing LPG cylinder crisis, which has resulted in the closure of food courts at the Annapurna temple until further arrangements for fuel are made for the same.