LPG mafia still calls the shots

KOCHI: Even as the city is undergoing severe shortage of gas cylinders, neither the authorities nor the district administration is ready to take action in the regard. The Civil Supplies Corporation office which has to check such illegal activities is facing severe staff shortage and even the work of the Vigilance squads has been affected owing to staff shortage.According to Civil Supplies officer M S Jaya, the squadd had been deployed to check such activities. But the department is under severe staff shortage and hence proper action cannot be taken. “We form Vigilance squads during festive seasons by utilising the services of officials deputed from other departments. But since it is off season, the staff form other departments are unavailable. Thus we have to manage the whole work on our own,” Jaya said.Even after several requests seeking deployment of staff, no action has been taken. “No recruitment has been made in the department in the past three decades. Though several letters were sent to the higher-ups, nothing has been done to solve the problem,” she added.Meanwhile, District Collector P A Sheikh Pareeth, who had told the City Express that strict action would be taken against those who sell gas cylinders in the grey market, failed to keep his words. It has been four days since the report on the illegal sale of gas cylinders was published but no action has been taken yet and the mafia is still active. It seems that the district administration is not in a mood to act on such a severe issue faced by the Kochiites.A housewife in Kadavanthra told City Express that she had to wait for more than 30 days to get a gas cylinder after booking. “Last time, even after booking it took more than a month to get the gas. Though we complained to the agencies and the authorities, no action was taken in this regard,” she said.  The Civil Supplies Corporation authorities confirmed that they used to get eight to 10 calls daily to register complaints. “The complaints are mostly regarding the delay in issuing gas cylinders. Instances of misuse of domestic connections for commercial purposes are high. There have been 25 such cases so far in the last three months. The Civil Supplies Corporation officials had seized 45 cylinders during the raids conducted in the city. Autorickshaw operators and hoteliers are the main culprits who divert domestic cylinders for commercial purposes,” a Civil Supplies Corporation official said.