Kolkata, March 8 On International Women's Day, women Trinamool Congress leaders and workers staged a protest against the hike in cooking gas prices by sporting black sarees.
A procession was taken out on Sunday from Subodh Mallick Square wearing black sarees and black clothes to party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's sit-in demonstration site at Esplanade.
State Ministers Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya led the protest march. Protests were also held on the sit-in stage wearing black sarees. Mamata also protested with symbolic cylinders in her hands.
Every year, the Trinamool Congress holds various programmes on International Women's Day. This time, the increase in LPG cylinders prices in the fallout of the conflict in the Middle East has been the issue of their programme.
On Saturday, Mamata expressed her anger over a hike in the price of LPG cylinders and called for a procession to protest the increase in the price of cooking gas.
Speaking from the sit-in demonstration in Esplanade, the Chief Minister had appealed to the people to come to the protest site with kitchen utensils.
The price of cooking gas cylinders in India has increased in the midst of the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East. The price of cooking gas cylinders for households has been increased by Rs 60 from Friday midnight.
"Yesterday, the price of cooking gas was increased by 60 rupees. Three days before that, the price of commercial gas was increased by 49 rupees. The price of a large cylinder has become 2,100 rupees. And the price of a small cylinder has become almost 1,000 rupees. They said that you have to book LPG cylinders 21 days in advance. Will someone whose house runs out of gas go without cooking for 21 days? Don't you think about these things first? What will people eat?" she had said.
The government has directed Indian refiners to maximise their output of LPG, asking public sector oil marketing companies to ensure that LPG so procured is marketed solely to consumers of domestic LPG.
The Centre has increased the price of a 14.2 kg domestic cooking gas cylinder by Rs 60. Gas worth Rs 879 will now have to be purchased at Rs 939. The new price has been fixed from Saturday.
The price of commercial gas has also been increased per cylinder. The price of commercial gas has been increased by Rs 50 from Rs 114 to Rs 1990.
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