The Mizoram government is mulling to provide support price to solve the LPG crisis in various districts.
Officials of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department said the government has proposed to provide the support price but no concrete decision has been taken.
The officials added that supply of LPG cylinders from Borkhola in Assam did not encounter any trouble but transportation from Mualkhang gas bottling plant faced disruption as truck drivers hiked the transportation cost, which led to arrangement of increased support price to ensure smooth supply.
“The support price will be determined based on the distance between gas bottling plant and destination,” an official said, adding that the support price would differ from place to place and on average, 30 paise for each cylinder has been arranged.
The official added that the truck drivers’ refusal to transport cylinders after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reduced the transportation rate for the contractors had triggered the crisis. The official alleged that the contractors, who transported the cylinders from Mualkhang gas bottling plant, responded to tender with low bids owing to which the truck drivers refused to transport the cylinders.
According to officials, Lunglei, Siaha, Champhai, Serchhip and Mamit districts have been hit hard by the shortage as these districts used to receive LPG cylinders from the Mualkhang gas bottling plant, which is monitored by the Mizoram State Cooperative Marketing and Consumers’ Federation Ltd (MIZOFED).
Expansion of the Borkhala gas bottling plant also disrupted the supply, he said.
Source: The Telegraph