LPG cylinders produced in Bengal should not be sent outside: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday reiterated her demand that cooking gas produced in the state should not be diverted elsewhere in the country, citing concerns over a perceived LPG shortage amidst the ongoing West Asia conflict.

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Responding to a query on the Centre's decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 to help oil marketing companies cope with rising global crude prices, Banerjee questioned whether the benefit would be passed on to consumers.

"They increased fuel prices to alarming levels first and are now reducing duties in minuscule amounts. I want people to get that benefit," she said, while addressing reporters at the Kolkata airport before boarding her flight to Andal in Burdwan district, where she is scheduled to address election rallies.

The chief minister said the Centre must ensure that ordinary citizens do not suffer due to LPG allocations for government personnel and paramilitary forces being deployed in the state for poll duty.

"Both petrol and gas cylinders are available in sufficient quantity. But gas cylinders produced in Haldia and elsewhere in the state should not be sent outside in a situation where SPs and DMs of our state have been removed (by the EC)," the CM said.

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"Over 10 lakh people from outside the state would be deployed here on poll duty. They will have to be given LPG connections. But that should not result in the shortage of cylinder supply to ordinary citizens," she added.

She said the state has increased the supply of kerosene through the public distribution system to support those still dependent on it, though most households have shifted to LPG.

Earlier, during her meeting with oil marketing companies and gas distributors at the state secretariat on March 12-13, Banerjee inaugurated a 24-hour LPG control room to monitor gas stock and resolve supply bottlenecks in the state.

She had also issued a 10-point advisory and standard operating procedure to prevent out-of-state transfer, hoarding and black marketing of LPG cylinders.