Jago Grahak : Only a rhetoric?
Perennial shortage of LPG
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 31, 2012 -

a file pictre of Filled LPG cylinders in the black market

Booking upto 25/6/12 and delivery on 29/8/12 with a validity date.

There is a reason why the gas delivery report carried in the State dailies is one of the most sought after piece of information for thousands of housewives and households across the State.

A waiting period of 60 days or more and suddenly it should be clear to all that more than 90 percent of the gas consumers, with valid papers, can avail the supply for only five or six times in a year.

No questions asked and no inquiries solicited.

Given this reality it should not come as a surprise that about 800 metric tonnes of the allotted 2200 metric tonnes of LPG as State share gets lost every month, due to a shortfall in shipping them in.

This works out to about 40 pc loss every month.

The question is what happens to the 800 MT that are forfeited every month ? More importantly why is the State Government sleeping over this, especially when a filled LPG cylinder is sold at an exorbitant rate in the black market ? Or is it a case of some select few having their fingers in the pie, which may rightly be called LPGgate ? An institutionalised method of systematically bleeding the people dry and lining the pockets of some well placed persons.

Nothing less.

Consumers in Manipur continue to be short changed consistently and what is disturbing is the men responsible for this are not only the business sharks, who have long since sold their souls to the devil called avarice, but also the involvement of the people who are actually supposed to ensure governance.

So while the people continue to reel under the perennial problem of cooking gas shortage and wait for more than 60 days to get their refilled cylinder, the State Government continues to sleep over the loss of about 40 pc of its allotted share every month.

Nothing short of abdicating one's responsibility and duty.

It does not matter as long as the gas stoves in the houses of the VIPs can keep burning, seems to be the justification doled out by the powers that be.

Given the mental disposition of the people, it is also not surprising to see that no organised voice of protest or questioning has been raised against the perennial shortage of LPG in the State.

Has the Sekmai bottling plant served its intended purpose, or has it been reduced to a project that was set up amid much hype, without anything to show for delivery ? A cocktail of a people who do not know how to question and raise issues which are important to them and a Government which is the least concerned about the people, is one of the plots behind the LPG farce that has been enacted so far.

Instead of eagerly awaiting the morning newspaper to look up the gas report, instead of digging deep into their pockets to procure a filled LPG cylinder from the black market, instead of silently cursing the situation, it would do so good for the people to raise a voice.

The essence of Jago Grahak has obviously not yet seeped into the consciousness of the people.