Other States - Orissa   

Restaurant raided

BERHAMPUR: Illegal use of domestic LPG refills in large restaurants is a major cause behind shortage of domestic LPG refills continuing in the city.

On Sunday administrative officials raided a restaurant near the railway station due to allegations of use of domestic LPG refills in its kitchen. The Berhampur tehsildar, Sangram Panda on a tipoff had reached the restaurant. The owner and staff tried not to allow Mr Panda on the restaurant premises. They even allegedly misbehaved with him. But Mr Panda managed to enter the kitchen of the restaurant and found domestic LPG refills being used of which he took photographs.

A team of administrative officials, civil supplies officials led by Additional Project Director DRDA, Satya Ranjan Sahu rushed to the spot. But by that time the restaurant owner had managed to shift the domestic LPG refills from the kitchen to some unknown place. Attempts of replacing them with commercial LPG refills brought from a nearby LPG dealer were also foiled. The person who had carried some commercial LPG refills to the restaurant to help in damage control escaped from the spot with cylinders seeing the heavy presence of officials. The newsmen were astonished to find the large kitchen of the restaurant running without any LPG refills. The officials also called up the LPG dealer who was alleged to be providing domestic refills to the restaurant and had tried to save it by replacing them with commercial refills. The officials ordered sealing of the kitchen of the restaurant.

Me Sahu, who is now in charge of the civil supplies department in Ganjam district, said strict action would be initiated against the restaurants using domestic LPG refills illegally and the LPG dealers involved in it.

He accepted that large scale black-marketing of subsidized domestic LPG refills to restaurants and hotels was on in the city which was a cause of its shortage in the city. He urged the inhabitants of the city to inform authorities of illegal use of domestic LPG refills.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Armed police, Sundargarh residents clash
Cuttack railway station gets Wi-Fi facility
Clear the air on MRP
Banichitra awards presented
Red Ribbon Express chugs in
Restaurant raided
State flayed on sexual harassment probe
Held on charge of possessing fire arms
Four labourers killed in accident
MRTS for twin cities on the cards
End to housing curbs in sight

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu