Once the humble LPG cylinder refill, that has now gone dearer has become a big political issue especially in lower Himachal Pradesh. People from the lower Himachal rue that they have smaller landholdings and lack opportunities that the upper Himachal people get.
The electorate in various places in lower Himachal including Una, Dehra, Kangra, Dharamshala, Palampur, Nagrota Bagwan, Naddi and Khaniyara have a common grouse-the price of LPG cylinder has almost doubled lately.
“I used to buy it for Rs 680. Yesterday, I bought it for Rs 1130. What will a common man do? We feel like switching to some other fuel. But what to do? We have no alternatives,” said Sonia Kohli, a resident of Palampur, who helps her husband in repairing garments at Jagdamba boutique in the main market.
“Only today, a candidate visited my house. I told him upfront that I will not vote for anyone. Why should we vote when we are suffering? My children are working in Delhi. They have announced that they would not spend money on travel to vote. We have lost all faith, ” she added.
The price of domestic gas cylinder is an issue that affected every household. “For people in lower Himachal, it is a big issue. Unlike upper Himachal, which has apple growers and farmers with huge landholdings, we have small landholdings. We have no opportunities. For us, especially in villages, buying a cylinder every month for over Rs 1100 pinches. It burns a hole in our pocket,” said Mani Kumar, a taxi driver from Khaniyara.
Echoing a similar sentiment in Nadda, Kamal Kishor Sharma, a weaver said that it was becoming difficult to run the kitchen, “first they gave us all cylinders under Ujjawala Yojana. Then they started charging us by giving subsidy. Now what is the subsidy that we are getting? It is too expensive.”
Sanjeev Kumar, a taxi driver from Dhaloom village near Yol cantonment said he had already bought an induction plate as it was difficult to buy a cylinder now. “They turned us to LPG. Earlier, we in Himachal had many alternate fuels. We depended a lot on wood as it is in plenty in our state. But our women have called for the convenience of LPG. For someone who earns Rs 5,000 every month, finds it difficult to buy a cylinder. Power is cheaper in Himachal.”
BJP nominee from Dharamshala Rakesh Chaudhary said the expensive refill was not an issue at all. “It is not an issue. It is only the opposition agenda. Have you seen anyone protesting against the cylinder price except Congress?” he said.
