Mayabunder (North Andaman): A four-month wait for domestic cooking gas finally boiled over into a full-blown public protest at Rest Camp in Mayabunder sub-division, where angry women blockaded an LPG delivery truck and disrupted road traffic for several hours, demanding adequate supplies to beleaguered households.
The agitation erupted after an LPG-laden truck carrying refilled cylinders reached the locality following an alleged gap of nearly four months. However, hopes of relief quickly turned into anger when consumers were informed by delivery personnel that only one cylinder would be supplied to each household. The restriction triggered strong resentment among residents, particularly women, who argued that a single refill was grossly inadequate after months of disruption in supply, said Satish, a resident of Rest Camp during a brief telephonic conversation with The Phoenix Post today.
Demanding the immediate release of two cylinders per household, a large number of women staged a sit-in protest near the Rest Camp Police Outpost and prevented the loaded vehicle from leaving the area. The protesters maintained that households had been left struggling to manage their daily cooking requirements despite repeated appeals to the Civil Supplies authorities and LPG agency management.
They alleged that assurances of fresh supplies within 15 to 25 days had been repeatedly given but never honoured, leaving consumers at the mercy of an erratic distribution system. The prolonged uncertainty, they said, had pushed ordinary families to the brink, with the latest restriction on cylinder distribution proving to be the final trigger.
The blockade brought traffic movement in the locality to a standstill and prompted police and Revenue officials to rush to the spot to defuse the situation. Despite sustained efforts to persuade the protesters to call off their agitation, the impasse continued for several hours.
The dharna was finally called off at around 9.30 pm following intervention by the authorities.
The Assistant Commissioner, North and Middle Andaman, who subsequently visited the area, assured residents that LPG refills would be delivered before the end of the month. While the immediate confrontation has ended, the episode has once again exposed the vulnerability of essential supply chains in remote island settlements. The administration’s assurance will now be tested by timely delivery on the ground, as residents await an end to the prolonged LPG shortage rather than another round of assurances.
