The ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States is beginning to affect industries and the fuel market in Maharashtra, with several sectors reporting a shortage of gas supplies.
Ahead of the upcoming Parliament session in Delhi, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by referring to his earlier remark about producing gas from drains.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Raut said that when the conflict began, the Modi government had assured citizens that the situation would not affect India. However, he claimed the government has failed to keep that promise.
According to Raut, the gas shortage has forced nearly 30 per cent of restaurants and small businesses in Maharashtra and Karnataka to shut down. He questioned why Prime Minister Modi has not issued any statement on the issue so far.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Raut suggested launching a pilot project to produce gas along the banks of the Mithi River in Mumbai, referring to Modi’s earlier comment about generating fuel from drains. He said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should invite the Prime Minister to inaugurate the project.
“If the project proves successful on the Mithi River, a similar experiment could later be carried out on the Yamuna River as well,” Raut said.
He further alleged that the Centre’s policies are pushing the country “back by a hundred years”. If the situation continues, he said, cars may stop running on roads and the country could return to the era of bullock carts.
Raut also claimed that the gas shortage is affecting several industrial clusters. Engineering units in Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur, which depend heavily on gas for their operations, are facing difficulties. Automobile clusters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Chakan near Pune have also been impacted by the reduced supply.
