Today (March 14) is the 15th day of the war between America, Israel and Iran, which started on February 28. The fire of war has not spread only to these countries but its heat is being felt all over the world. India is also taking necessary steps to deal with this crisis. Especially when concerns are being raised regarding LPG supply due to the impact of movement in Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Shipping Ministry has given a big update regarding this.
‘Indian sailors completely safe’
Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Chief Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said, ‘All Indian sailors are completely safe in the Persian Gulf area, no untoward incident of any kind has happened with them in the last 24 hours.’ He told, ’24 Shivas of the Indian flag were present in the Persian Gulf, located west of the Strait of Hormuz.’
Two LPG ships will return to India
Sinha further said, ‘Two of these ships, Shivalik and Nanda, are LPG carriers. They emerged safely from the Strait of Hormuz last night (Friday)/this morning and are moving towards India. There is about 92,700 metric tons of LPG on both these ships. It will arrive at Mundra and Kandla ports on 16 and 17 March. Currently, there are 22 Indian ships left in the Persian Gulf, with 611 sailors on board.
Raids to stop black marketing and hoarding of LPG
At the same time, rapid raids are being conducted to stop black marketing and hoarding of LPG. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that raids are being conducted to curb black marketing and hoarding. Teams have been formed in many states, which are conducting surprise inspections.
FIR against 19 in UP, many in custody
Giving an example, he said that joint teams conducted raids in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Surprise inspections were also conducted at about 1400 places in Uttar Pradesh. Around 20 FIRs have been registered, several persons have been detained and action is being taken against around 19 people. Similarly, raids have also been conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Karnataka.
‘Priority to domestic consumers’
Sharma said, ‘The government is making every possible effort to ensure that domestic consumers do not face any inconvenience. Priority has been given to domestic consumers and the supply of domestic LPG cylinders is being maintained accordingly. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has allowed industries, hotels, restaurants and other establishments in NCR, which includes Delhi, to temporarily use biomass and RDF pellets in place of natural gas for a month.
‘Increase in domestic LPG production’
He said, domestic production has been continuously increased. Initially it has been increased from 10 percent to 25 percent, then to 28 percent and now to 31 percent. It has also been clarified that in urban areas there is a minimum gap of 25 days between the last delivery and the next LPG booking, while in rural areas there is a maximum gap of 45 days. Consumers have been advised to keep this time limit in mind while booking.
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