Fuel mismanagement leading to full-blown livelihood crisis: Congress

Bengaluru: Congress on Tuesday accused the Union government of precipitating a "full-blown livelihood crisis" in Karnataka by mismanaging LPG and fuel supply, severely impacting auto drivers, small businesses and gig workers.

In a joint statement, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and Congress General Secretary, in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that over five lakh auto drivers and lakhs of small hotel owners, vendors and delivery workers were facing unprecedented hardship due to steep price rise, supply shortages and alleged administrative failure at the Centre.

They demanded accountability from Union ministers from Karnataka.

"The Modi government's catastrophic mismanagement of the LPG and fuel ecosystem has triggered a full-blown livelihood crisis across Karnataka," they said in the statement.

Highlighting a sharp escalation in prices, the statement noted that auto LPG prices had surged from Rs 58-61 per litre in March to Rs 105-120 per litre within weeks.

They further alleged that private outlets were charging as high as Rs 125 to Rs 135 per litre, while government outlets had largely ceased operations.

The leaders pointed to an "artificial shortage" of fuel, claiming that the number of operational LPG/CNG stations in Bengaluru had dropped from 60 to 70 to barely 10 to 15, amounting to nearly an 80 per cent shutdown.

Daily supply, they said, had halved from 12,000 litres to 6,000 litres, with fuel being rationed at Rs 400 per vehicle, forcing drivers to queue up from early morning for hours.

They underlined that Karnataka's over five lakh autos formed the backbone of last-mile connectivity and warned that nearly half were off the roads, while others were losing productive hours due to long queues. Criticising suggestions to switch to petrol, the statement termed it impractical and unaffordable, given rising petrol prices and phased-out petrol vehicles.

On the impact of rising commercial LPG prices, the leaders said a Rs 200 hike from April 1 had pushed the cost of a 19-kg cylinder beyond Rs 2,000, adding that after multiple increases in 45 days, prices had reached Rs 2,161 per cylinder and were reportedly being sold in the black market at up to Rs 6,000.

This, they said, had severely affected small eateries, roadside vendors and gig workers dependent on food services.

Asserting that LPG supply is controlled by the Centre through oil marketing companies, they said, "Let us be absolutely clear; LPG supply in India is controlled by the Central Government through OMCs. States have no control over procurement or allocation." They further alleged that despite emergency supply orders, companies appeared to be ignoring directives, indicating a governance breakdown.

The leaders raised concerns over black market and potential further price hikes after the upcoming elections.

"This is not just a fuel crisis. This is a livelihood emergency affecting crores of citizens," they added.

The Congress leaders described the situation as a 'failure of leadership', stating that the Centre's inaction was pushing the working class towards distress and warned that public anger would reflect in the upcoming Assembly bye elections in Davanagere South and Bagalkote, as well as other polls across the country.