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| Kerosene dealers threaten self immolation following Govt's decision to reduce monthly quota | | | Majid Nabi
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Jan 8: Up in arms against the central government's decision of reducing kerosene quota to Kashmir by 18.48 lakh litres per month, the valley based kerosene oil dealers today threatened 'self immolation' along with their families in case the decision was not revoked immediately.
"Roll back the hasty decision, save our families from starvation" shouted valley based kerosene dealers who had assembled here under the banner of Kerosene Dealers Coordination Committee (KDCC) and staged demonstrations to protest the alleged 'hasty government decision.
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas vide Order No: P-21016/41/2012-Dist dated 31-12-2014 has cut the quota from 48.48 lakh litres to 30 lakh litres. Now, according to the new allocation, every ration card holder will get on an average three litres of kerosene per month.
"We extend our apologies to the consumers who will definitely face hardships in absence of kerosene oil as we have decided to go for a protracted strike until our demands are met. We are very much hopeful that the government keeping in view the recent devastation caused by the floods will do something favorable for us or else we will set ourselves ablaze along with our families," said Ghulam Ahmad Shalla, President KDCC who owns a retail kerosene depot at Khayam area told Early Times.
Shalla said that initially every ration card holder was provided seven litres of kerosene in winters and five litres in summers. "Now according to recent decision by Union Petroleum Ministry a consumer can get only two litres per month which is sheer injustice with consumers and crude joke with dealers whose families are wholly and solely dependent on this business," added Shalla.
He said that the government should either roll back the decision or provide them a government job so that they could also sustain their families.
"I am 65 years old and am associated with this business form the last 40 years. How could we feed our families if our only source of income was blocked? We want the government to accommodate us at par with ration dealers as before issuing license we were categorically asked that there is no government job for us," he said. Another kerosene dealer Parvaiz Ahmad said that the government has left no option for them other than suicide. "For us it is a do or die situation as we have no other source to sustain our families. Nearly 2500 dealers would be affected by this decision across the valley. If the government cannot roll back this cruel decision then it is mandatory for it to provide us with some other alternative," he said. |
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