BHUBANESWAR : With short supply of LPG cylinders affecting food business across the state, small eateries and vendors on Sunday demanded the government to provide cooking gas to them at a subsidised rate.
They claimed that the current LPG crisis has put livelihood of at least 30,000 street food vendors in the state at stake, and sought intervention of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in the matter.
In a letter to the chief minister, president of All Odisha Roadside Vendors’ Association Pratap Kumar Sahu said the LPG shortage triggered by the US-Iran conflict in the Gulf region has deeply affected the small street food vendors in the state.
“These vendors who served street food to customers at cheap prices are now shutting down their businesses due to unavailability of commercial gas cylinders. While the crisis has put their livelihood at stake, it has also affected lakhs of people who cannot afford big hotels and rely on them for food,” Sahu wrote.
He further pointed out that some unscrupulous traders had been taking advantage of the situation and running black markets, making it difficult for small street vendors to buy gas cylinders at normal rate.
“The unscrupulous traders are selling domestic and commercial cooking gas for `3,000 to `5,000 per cylinder, making it impossible for ordinary shopkeepers to pay such high prices to buy gas and run their business,” Sahu said.
Accordingly, he demanded that all 30,000 registered small food vendors in the state be supplied at least 10 commercial gas cylinders each per month at a discounted rate. He requested the government to open adequate sales centres to ensure that the supply of domestic and commercial cylinders remains smooth. The association threatened to stage agitation if its demands were not considered.