Shravasti. There is an outcry over LPG cylinders in Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh. The situation has become tense due to long queues outside gas agencies and problems in supply. The situation is such that people are becoming physically exhausted due to standing in queues for hours and the crowd is becoming uncontrollable. There was chaos at the gas distribution center on Wednesday when a fasting woman standing in the queue suddenly fell unconscious. According to eyewitnesses, the woman’s health deteriorated due to the scorching heat and hours of waiting. The local people immediately supported him and tried to bring him back to consciousness by giving him first aid. After this incident the crowd’s patience ran out. In the race to get gas, a heated argument broke out between the consumers, which soon turned into a scuffle and a scuffle. During this uproar, two other women were seriously injured, who have been sent to the nearest health center for treatment. Local consumers allege that there is a huge shortage of cylinders for the last several days. People start standing in the queue since dark in the morning, but are forced to return empty handed by the evening. On the other hand, the district administration has completely rejected the reports of shortage. Officials say the supply is completely regular. Those consumers whose OTP comes on their mobile, are being given cylinders on priority. There are a total of 2 lakh 35 thousand connections in the district, out of which 1.50 lakh are under the Ujjwala scheme.
DM’s appeal and new system
Clarifying the situation, District Magistrate Ashwani Kumar Pandey said that cylinders will be provided to the beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme at an interval of 25 days and to general consumers at an interval of 30 days. He has appealed to the public not to pay heed to rumors and avoid unnecessary crowding at distribution centres. Despite the claims of the administration, the ground reality and the uncontrolled crowd gathering at the gas agencies are telling a different story. Now it remains to be seen how long the administration will be able to streamline this distribution system.
