Panaji (Goa): Savera NGO today petitioned Civil Supplies department asking it to keep a strict watch on the LPG cylinder companies which are involved in pilferage resulting cheating to the end customers.
“It is with the heavy heart that we are addressing this memorandum to you pointing out how grossly the consumers who are mostly middle class ladies are cheated by the companies and their agents providing LPG cylinder,” Tara Kerkar of Savera has said in her letter to the Civil Supplies Department, which was released during a press conference today.
“You must be well informed about the recent episode in Benaulim when few people were caught by alert citizens when they were half-emptying the cylinders. The incident was widely covered in the newspapers and television channels,” she pointed out.
The NGO has said it is that Civil Supplies department which is well equipped to take action against such instances has maintained silence over the issue.
“It would have been appropriate if you had to take the action in association with Legal Metrology department, so that these kind of instances are not repeated,” the letter reads.
“As a NGO Savera has been interacting with several women who were complaining about the half filled cylinders that were delievered to them. While they are charged fully, the product that they get is half,” she said.
“The incident at Benaulim is an alert for the Civil Supplies department that such kind of things must have been happening across Goa. Your department should have formed a task force and had surprise checks all over,” the letter mentions.
“It’s sad that we don’t see any strict action coming up from your side.
Union government’s initiative to ensure that cylinders are supplied to all the households irrespective of their income has faced a major jolt due to inefficiency of your department,” Kerkar has said.
“We would be forced to escalate the matter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office over the lax attitude of your officials, if we don’t see any action on the ground. We would like to inform you that in past PMO has taken serious congisance of our letters asking Chief Secretary to initiate inquiry,” the NGO has said.
“We expect that you will make it mandatory for the companies to weigh the cylinder in front of the consumer before it is delivered.”
Team TNV
