Bhubaneswar: A fire broke out at a restaurant at Manas complex in Jagamara area of Bhubaneswar in the early hours of Friday.
According to sources, the incident took place around 6.30 am when the blaze possibly spread from a firewood stove in which the staff of the restaurant at Jagamohan Nagar were cooking due to alleged commercial LPG shortage caused by geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Two Fire Services teams and striking force from Tamanado rushed to the spot and quickly contained the fire, preventing it from engulfing other shops in the complex.
While the property was partially damaged, no one was harmed. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
This comes a day after members of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) requested the intervention of Chief Secretary Anu Garg to resolve the challenges they are facing in procuring commercial LPG cylinders. Hoteliers from various districts reported that LPG distributors are insisting written approval from the Collector or SP in order to procure 19kg commercial cylinders.
This issue arose despite Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra announcing earlier this week that hotels and restaurants would be allocated 40% of the commercial LPG quota, they added.
