Srinagar, Oct 18: Kashmir Economic Alliance, an amalgam of Valley-based traders, transporters, hoteliers and industrialists, Tuesday threatened to launch massive agitation in case state government failed to increase the cap on subsidized LPG cylinders. 
 Calling Omar Abdullah-led government a “failure” and “insensitive” to the problems of common people, president KEA, Muhammad Yaseen Khan said: “We were hopeful that the state government will make some good announcement on LPG after the Cabinet Meeting, but that to our dismay did not happen.”
 He ridiculed and termed as “useless” the state government decision to send a team to New Delhi for “seeking some relaxation on LPG from the central government.”
 “We are demanding from day one that state government should increase the quota from its resources,” Khan asserted.
 “People are suffering. They have run out of cooking gas. Yet instead of taking any concrete step, government is issuing rhetorical statements,” Khan said.
 He said if the government could spend crores of rupees on perks and miscellaneous expenses of ministers and legislatures, “why cannot it give a small relief to the people by raising the cap of subsidized gas.”
 He said if the state government cannot address this problem, “it has no moral authority to rule the state.” 
 Khan alleged that the “government is hand in glove with oil companies in creating artificial shortage of cooking gas.”
  “We have credible information that the state government officials including some bureaucrats and ministers are getting benefits by creating artificial shortage of cooking gas. LPG gas worth Rs 60 lakh is black-marketed during evening hours under the patronage of state government officials every day,” Khan alleged.
 Meanwhile the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashmir (CCIK) castigated the state government for failing to “increase the cap on subsidized LPG cylinders from six to twelve.”
 “People have to wait in long queues for getting LPG cylinders which is pathetic. Government should ask the oil companies operating in the Valley to provide cooking gas to the people without first pressing for documentation process,” Tariq Rashid Ghani, Joint Secretary, CCIK said.
 He said the verification process is highly cumbersome for consumers and the state government should provide some relief to its people in view of the Eid which is round the corner.  
 Pertinently, after New LPG policy came into effect, LPG consumers in the Valley are facing lot of problems.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST