Industries seek relief from minister Samant as flow meter shortage stalls piped gas connections in Waluj MIDC amid fuel crisis

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A severe shortage of flow meters required for providing new piped gas connections to industries in the Waluj industrial area was delaying relief for units facing an acute fuel crisis despite the presence of required infrastructure, petroleum department officials told state industries minister Uday Samant during a late-night review meeting on Thursday.The meeting was convened to assess the crisis triggered by the ongoing commercial LPG supply disruption, which has significantly hampered industrial operations across the region. Several entrepreneurs told the minister that many micro and small scale units in the Waluj industrial area were forced to halt operations on Thursday due to a lack of fuel, leaving workers anxious about their livelihoods.The officials said the procurement for flow meters could take up to eight weeks.Responding to their concerns, Samant assured that he would take up the matter with the chief minister and explore possible interventions from both state and central govts. During the discussion, the option of using compressed biogas (CBG) also came up, with the minister suggesting bamboo cultivation as a long-term strategy to address fuel shortages.Samant told divisional commissioner Jitendra Papalkar and district collector Dileep Swami to hold separate meetings with industries that might be able to shift from LPG to natural gas and to prepare a roadmap to enable such transitions where feasible.Entrepreneurs described the situation as dire, saying they have been struggling daily to arrange enough fuel to keep their factories operational. "Since early morning, we have been searching for gas to ensure production continues," several industrialists told the minister.The officials said many issues relating to fuel supply fell under Union govt's jurisdiction. They said state govt would submit a representation to the Union petroleum minister outlining the challenges faced by industries.Industrialists also sought relief in loan repayments, saying the fuel crisis had reduced production capacity while raw material prices were rising. They warned that paying upcoming loan instalments at the end of March will be difficult without some financial concessions.Samant also urged entrepreneurs to examine the state's newly announced bamboo policy, saying bamboo cultivation and CBG projects could offer a sustainable long-term solution to prevent such crises. He highlighted that the state budget has allocated Rs 50,000 crore for bamboo plantations and related initiatives and encouraged industries to utilise available land for cultivation.The district authorities said bamboo plantations had already been carried out on nearly 1,600 hectares in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.