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Shiv Sena (UBT) workers on Sunday staged a protest in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar against the recent increase in LPG and fuel prices, alleging that rising costs were placing an additional burden on households across the country.
The demonstration was led by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC and senior leader Ambadas Danve, who criticised the Centre over the increase in the prices of cooking gas, petrol and diesel over the years. Addressing reporters during the protest, Danve claimed that the cost of an LPG cylinder had increased significantly since 2014 and accused the government of failing to provide relief to consumers. "In 2014, gas was about Rs 355 and has now reached almost Rs 1,000. Prices of gas, petrol, and diesel are rising daily. When we began our protest, the rates were different; even a few days later, they changed again," Danve told reporters. He dismissed the government's explanation linking hikes to global volatility. Danve also criticised India's foreign policy approach amid the energy crisis. "Such rapid increases are blamed on repeated global crises. Yet, in neighbouring countries, prices have fallen. India, however, continues to face challenges. India is still holding on to unreliable friends," he added. The protest comes in the wake of a fresh increase in domestic LPG prices. The price of a domestic LPG cylinder was raised by Rs 29 with effect from June 7. The latest revision follows earlier increases, including a Rs 60 hike announced in March amid fluctuations in global energy markets triggered by tensions in West Asia. Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas have stated that the government has taken several measures to ensure adequate LPG supply, including increased domestic production and secured imports. On Thursday, during an inter-ministerial briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said under-recovery on domestic LPG remains significant."As far as the under recovery on LPG domestic cooking cylinder is concerned, it is still in the range of almost 700 rupees," Sharma said while responding to media queries. Sharma attributed the recent moderation in LPG demand to multiple factors, including lower consumption by commercial and industrial users, improved booking cycles and technology-led delivery authentication. "There has been a reduction because our commercial and industrial LPG and the other reason is the booking period that we managed, I mean 25 days and 45 days. And the third reason is the DAC [Delivery Authentication Code] linked deliveries," she said. (ANI)
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