BENGALURU: Congress on Tuesday accused the Union government of triggering a “full-blown livelihood crisis” in Karnataka, alleging mismanagement of LPG and fuel supply that has hit auto drivers, small businesses and gig workers.
In a joint statement, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Congress general secretary in charge of the state Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that over five lakh auto drivers and lakhs of small hotel owners, vendors and delivery workers were facing severe hardship due to rising prices, supply shortages and administrative failure at the Centre.
“The Modi government’s catastrophic mismanagement of the LPG and fuel ecosystem has triggered a full-blown livelihood crisis across Karnataka,” they said.
They highlighted a steep rise in auto LPG prices from Rs 58–61 per litre in March to Rs 105–120 per litre within weeks, alleging that private outlets were charging up to Rs 125–135 per litre while many government outlets had ceased operations.
The leaders also pointed to what they termed an “artificial shortage” of fuel, claiming that the number of operational LPG/CNG stations in Bengaluru had dropped from 60–70 to around 10–15, nearly an 80 per cent decline. Daily supply, they said, had fallen from 12,000 litres to 6,000 litres, with fuel being rationed at Rs 400 per vehicle, forcing long queues.
They underlined that Karnataka’s over five lakh autos are critical to last-mile connectivity and warned that nearly half were off the roads, while others were losing productive hours.
Criticising suggestions to switch to petrol, they said it was impractical given rising petrol prices and the phasing out of petrol vehicles.
On commercial LPG, the leaders said a Rs 200 hike from April 1 had pushed the cost of a 19-kg cylinder beyond Rs 2,000, adding that prices had reached Rs 2,161 after multiple increases in 45 days, with reports of black market sales at up to Rs 6,000.
They said the surge had severely impacted small eateries, roadside vendors and gig workers dependent on food services.
“Let us be absolutely clear: LPG supply in India is controlled by the Central Government through OMCs. States have no control over procurement or allocation,” they said.
They further alleged that despite emergency supply orders, companies appeared to be ignoring directives, indicating a governance breakdown.
“This is not just a fuel crisis. This is a livelihood emergency affecting crores of citizens,” they added.
Calling the situation a “failure of leadership”, the Congress leaders warned that public anger could reflect in the upcoming Assembly by-elections in Davanagere South and Bagalkote, as well as other polls across the country.
(With inputs from PTI)