Today (March 14) is the 15th day of the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, which started on February 28. The flames of war have not been limited to these countries alone; Rather, their heat is being felt all over the world. India is also taking necessary steps to deal with the crisis—especially as concerns arise over LPG supplies due to disruptions in transit through Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. Amidst this situation, the Shipping Ministry has given an important update.
Indian sailors are completely safe’
Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Chief Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said, “All Indian sailors present in the Persian Gulf region are completely safe; there has been no untoward incident of any kind with them in the last 24 hours.” He further said, “24 Indian-flagged ships were present in the Persian Gulf, which is 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 safely exited the Strait of Hormuz last night (Friday)/this morning and are currently sailing towards India. Both these ships are carrying approximately 92,700 MT of LPG. They are scheduled to reach Mundra and Kandla ports on March 16 and 17 respectively. At present, there are 22 Indian ships in the Persian Gulf with 611 sailors on board.”
Raids to stop black marketing and hoarding of LPG
Meanwhile, intensive raids are being conducted to prevent black marketing and hoarding of LPG. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, confirmed that the raids are being conducted to curb black marketing and hoarding activities. Teams have been formed in many states to conduct surprise inspections.
FIR registered against 19 people in UP; many in custody
Giving examples, he said that joint teams conducted raids in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh too, surprise inspections were conducted at about 1,400 places. Around 20 FIRs have been registered, several people have been detained, and action is being initiated 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 effort to ensure that domestic consumers are not inconvenienced in any way. 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 the NCR—which includes Delhi—to temporarily use biomass and RDF pellets instead of natural gas for a period of one month.”
‘Increase in domestic LPG production’
He further informed that domestic production has witnessed a steady growth. Initially it was increased from 10 percent to 25 percent, later it was increased to 28 percent, and now it has reached 31 percent. It was also clarified that a minimum gap of 25 days has been mandated between the last delivery and the next LPG booking for urban areas, while a maximum gap of 45 days has been prescribed for rural areas. Consumers are advised to keep this time limit in mind when booking.