Scarcity of Essentials

For the past many days, there has been an acute shortage of essential commodities in the Kashmir province. Many petrol stations running short of fuel had pulled down their shutters, and there were long lines of cars, passenger vehicles and two-wheelers outside some of them that had bare minimum stocks. Commuters lining up for four litres of petrol, rationed by Divisional Administration had to wait for hours at the oil stations. Across the valley, there have been widespread complaints about shortage LPG cylinders, fresh vegetables and other essential commodities. Only a few hundred LPG cylinders are distributed against the daily requirement of 34,000 in Kashmir, dozens of trucks laden with LPG cylinders are stranded on the highway. On Sunday, in a meeting of the State Administrative Council (SAC), Governor Satya Pal Malik was informed that the supply situation in Kashmir was ‘critically low”. The petrol in stock is adequate to meet for just one-day and diesel for four days. There are no stocks of LPG cylinders in the Valley’. The current shortage of petroleum and other essential products may be tied over after the road opens. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of scarcity can recur any time after another snowfall or a shower and unless the state administration revisits the policy of stocking for the winter months. That Srinagar-Jammu highway is not a reliable communication link between Kashmir and rest of the country during winter months is a fact. Despite best efforts made by the Border Roads Organization, the highway during past three months has remained closed for almost a month and a half- many times it was closed for seven to eight days at a stretch. There can be no denying that the central and state governments for past many decades have been ardently working for upgrading the road, it has been contemplating of constructing alternative road links to the border state, but no effort has been made for increasing capacity in the division for winter stocking. Except for one company having set up a filling station for LPG cylinders in outskirts of the city, all other companies have been transporting the LPG cylinders from Jammu or other cities. There are no big dumps for storing petrol and diesel. Major companies supplying edible oil and other essential commodities to Kashmir, instead of stocking their products in the summer capital are storing them in the winter capital. For supplying fresh vegetables during winters, the agriculture department of Kashmir has failed to replicate even the Leh model greenhouse scheme.

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