BHUBANESWAR: The ongoing LPG crisis has affected thousands of students and employees living in hostels, mess and PG accommodations across the state capital, forcing many to adjust with simple meals or relocate.
A number of hostels have also scaled down their operations or are dependent on caterers to supply food to the boarders. Residential schools and colleges are equally affected and have urged the government to intervene.
Sasmita Behera, a student staying in a private mess in Satya Vihar area of the city said the increasing cost of cooking gas in the local market is forcing many of her roommates to rethink about the situation, with some planning to relocate until things normalise. Behera said the cost of LPG gas, available with local vendors, has doubled in the last one week due to disruption in supply.
“Refilling a 5 kg cylinder, which we use in our mess for five or six members, used to cost around Rs 450 to Rs 500. However, it now costs us Rs 1,000. Given the situation, we have decided to collect money and purchase an induction cooktop to manage things for now,” she said.
Anupama Sahu, who works at a real estate firm, said that owing to the crisis, she and her roommates in a private mess in Rasulgarh area have limited their cooking to one or two items. “We have to adjust, as a few of our roommates now rely on our mess for breakfast and lunch because their office canteen stopped serving food due to LPG shortage,” Sahu said.
While students in such off-campus and small private accommodations are struggling to cope with the situation, many hostels in the city have shutdown their kitchen due to disruption in LPG supply and are ordering food from outside for their boarders.
Priya Ranjan Mohanty, who runs the Satabdi hostel, said, “We have been delivering food to our boarders from outside for the last four days as the supply agency has not been able to deliver the commercial cylinders citing inadequate stock.” He, however, said that they are expecting things to improve soon as the government has announced availability of adequate stock in the state.
Authorities of KISS, on the other hand, have written to the district collector and the LPG company, requesting them to ensure smooth supply of cooking gas cylinders to their institution as around 30,000 students are currently residing on their campus.