An extremely acute shortage of business cooking gas has also created a cutthroat crisis in the student accommodation in Patna, with nearly 3000 privately managed hostels purportedly in danger of going out of business. The issue has raised the eyebrows of about 2.5 lakh students who rely on such hostels to reside and enjoy meals daily in the course of their studies and training for competitive examinations.
The hostel operators argue that the absence of commercial LPG cylinders has impacted the usual functioning of the kitchen, therefore making it hard to feed students. The majority of the hostels in this city have an integrated kitchen that solely depends on commercial LPG. Cycles are either not in stock or come in low quantities, forcing a number of hostels to reduce their cooking operations or shut down their food services.
Patna is also popularly known to be an important centre of education in the eastern part of India, which attracts learners in Bihar and other states. Thousands of youths are being surged to the city every year to compete in the competitive examinations on national and state levels, which are arranged by institutions such as the Union Public Service Commission and the Staff Selection Commission. Many such students are staying in hostels privately in the hostels that are located near coaching centres and schools.
It is also threatening to shut down its supply of gas to hostel owners unless it is reinstated in the near future. This can force thousands of students to leave their hostels and fly home, hence disrupting their exam preparations and school schedules.
Gas shortage is also an issue that is being felt in the hospitality industry of the city. The same has been witnessed in restaurants and small hotels in Patna due to the low supply of commercial LPG cylinders. Other people have started waiting till the food orders are ready and minimize the foods they provide in their menu since they are trying to conserve the remaining fuel.
The industry representatives believe that the matter might be linked to supply interference in the process of delivering commercial cylinders to hostels, restaurants and other commercial establishments by the oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum, who distribute LPG to the hostels, restaurants and other commercial outlets.
The local governments are also said to be aware of the situation, and they are in touch with the gas distributors to restore normal supply as early as possible. Managers have also assured that they are addressing the shortage to overcome it and prevent further interference.
Meanwhile, the owners of the hostels and the students themselves are optimistic that this problem can be resolved in the near future, since the crisis is not only causing a problem with the accommodation facilities, but also the course plans of thousands of young ambassadors in the city.
