Editorial: Modi government also to blame for LPG crisis
The war in West Asia will have a direct impact on the global market for crude oil and natural gas.
Modi government blamed for LPG crisis Editorial: The fear and anxiety that has spread across the country over the shortage of cooking gas (LPG) is bound to tarnish the image of the Modi government. The government constituencies are blaming the international situation less and the opposition and profiteers more for the current situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an event on Thursday, warned that the country will not forgive those who raise the alarm about the 'alleged shortage' of petroleum products. He claimed that despite the direct impact of the war in West Asia on the global market of crude oil and natural gas, the Indian government is protecting the interests of Indian consumers well. Therefore, no shortage of petroleum products will be allowed to arise in the country. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also made a similar claim in Parliament on Thursday. Despite such claims, the lack of improvement in the situation at the ground level and the persistence of queues of people buying cylinders outside gas agencies have shown that the common people are not ready to believe the government claims. This is an unfortunate situation. But at the same time, the reality is that this situation arose due to the lack of government initiatives. If the government had taken precautionary steps against profiteering and hoarding even a week ago, the situation of lamentation would not have arisen across the country. The main task of the government is to create confidence in the minds of the countrymen to deal with the consequences of any difficult situation as soon as it arises. The Modi government missed the opportunity to take timely action in this matter. If it is now facing criticism, then instead of blaming others, it must show the humility to admit its own fault.
According to experts, the average consumption of LPG in India is 31 million tonnes per year. This is a very large amount. 13 million tonnes of LPG is produced annually within the country. To meet the remaining requirement, this gas is imported from abroad. Thus, the ratio of import and domestic production is about 60:40. India has been importing 85 to 90 percent of gases like LPG, CNG and LNG from West Asia, especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia. These countries are geographically close and their gas reserves are also very large. Qatar has completely stopped the export of LNG due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and missile attacks on tankers. Because they are LNG The world's largest exporter of natural gas, its decision is having a negative impact not only on India but also on the rest of the world. India is facing a greater hardship because it does not have a system to store natural gas on a large scale. Here, the system of closing cylinders ahead of the daily arrival of gas tankers has been in operation till now. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had drawn the attention of the Indian government to the issue of lack of storage facilities in January this year. The Modi government's disregard for its warnings is now paying off.
The government complains that despite there being no shortage of LPG, the opposition parties are unnecessarily raising this alleged shortage. This complaint is not politically justified. If the opposition parties do not raise the government's incompetence, then who else will do this work? It is the government's duty to ignore the opposition's complaints for the time being and focus more on making the supply of LPG and other petroleum products normal. In view of India's economic reputation, this task is not very difficult. Just as Iran has been persuaded to allow six natural gas tankers to pass safely through the Gulf of Hormuz, the same process should be continued in the future. Only such a success can help in erasing the scars of the failure so far, no more lip service.