Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Stating Canacona Gas Consumers continue to suffer and do not get proper service, members of Vision & Mission… Progressive Canacona, Swabhimani Jagruth Canconkar and JanaSena yet again confronted the Gas Dealer and submitted a 5-demands memorandum to the Dy. Collector to make eKYC procedure hassle-free.
‘LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization) reforms were introduced under the New Economic Policy of 1991 to make LPG cylinders easily accessible to the common people of India. Now, though the Union Government is proclaiming “Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas”, and “Acche Din Aane Wale hai”, our State Government is saying “‘Sarkar Tumchya Daari”, but by forcing people to complete problematic, time-consuming formalities. Why can’t the government make people’s lives stress-free? Why this “Dravid Pranayama” of eKYC? Is this the Acche Din of common Indian citizens?
Led by Janardhan Bhandari activists first questioned the HP Distributor at Prabhudessai Gas Service as to why awareness is not done, nor teams are sent in all the villages to complete eKYC and how the distributor is continuing to supply gas cylinders only who books online, which were demanded from the HP Company a fortnight ago.
The lone HP Gas distributor in Canacona however, expressed his helplessness without receiving directions from the parent company.
The aggrieved activists then handed over a memorandum to the distributor for submission to the company and then marched to the Canacona Dy. Collector Office and submitted another memorandum copy to Dy.collector Madhu Narvekar.
People are made to run from Pilar to post to obtain Gas cylinders even as Canacona taluka has over 18,000 gas connections which are serviced by a lone LPG company Hindustan Petroleum Gas, which has a sole distributor, Prabhudessai Gas Service at Chaudi.
The memorandum state addressed to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, New Delhi, with copies to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and seven others in Goa, states, ‘Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on X, where he had categorically mentioned that “There is no deadline for this activity either by Oil Marketing Companies or the Central Government. It is also clarified by OMCs that there is no “Mustering” of customers at Showrooms of LPG distributorship.”
“The process of Aadhar Card eKYC is part of an initiative by Oil Companies to ensure that legitimate customers hold legitimate LPG connections. The Department of Legal Metrology, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs must play a significant role in tracking bogus LPG customers, to detect black marketing of LPG cylinders. However, common people should not be harassed every time for one reason or another,” he said.
The five demands put forth by activists are:
(1) Immediate start of Village-wise Awareness-cum-Registration camp for Aadhar-based eKYC of LPG Gas customers in Canacona taluka to avoid hardships for people of Canacona.
(2)The issue of poor mobile connectivity in Canacona must be considered seriously by the HPCL and necessary steps should be taken to ease the eKYC or future mandatory booking of LPG Cylinders via Mobile, otherwise it will deprive people of getting LPG Cylinders.
[3] As a formal deadline is not fixed by the Union Government for Aadhar Card eKYC, the HPCL or the Gas Agency shouldn’t harass LPG Customers to complete formalities and shouldn’t deny gas under pretext of non-fulfilment of eKYC.
[4] The Department of Legal Metrology should keep a strict vigil, and conduct surprise raids on Gas Agencies/suspected bogus LPG customers to avoid black marketing, and pilferage of LPG Cylinders.
[5] The existing system of booking Gas (mobile booking shouldn’t be mandatory) should continue and the people of Canacona should not be harassed till the eKYC process is resolved amicably.
