The Thrikkakara Residents’ Associations Apex Council (TRAAC) has demanded allocation of more gas agencies in the municipality. The demand comes at a time when people are reeling under cooking gas shortage and are forced to line up before gas agencies from dawn to dusk. In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, TRAAC, an apex body of more than 60 residents’ associations within the Thrikkakara municipal limits, has demanded a minimum of five agencies in the municipality instead of the present two.
It has also dispatched a copy of the memorandum to Benny Behanan, MLA, Thrikkakara municipal chairman P.I. Mohammadali, District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareed and the regional managers of IOC, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum.
TRAAC said the number of families settled in the municipality is likely to be doubled from the existing 25,000 in a couple of years in view of its rising profile as one of the major IT hubs in South India. The demand for flats, houses, and villas in the area is also likely to soar in the years to come, taking into account the 50,000-odd direct employees with major establishments including Cochin Special Economic Zone, Infopark, Kinfra, Muthoot Technopolis, etc. and an equal number of indirect employees and floating population.
ADVERTISEMENT
Since an LPG agency can normally serve up to 5,000 customers, the surge of people in the area justified the demand for more agencies.
At present, an acute shortage of cooking gas is being felt in the area and it is imperative that authorities take immediate steps to resolve the crisis, the memorandum said.
TRAAC also demanded an increase in the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to 12 a year on the ground that a cylinder hardly lasts a month for an average family of five. The Below Poverty Line and Above Poverty Line differentiation, besides being futile, will only encourage black-marketing.
ADVERTISEMENT