Noida: The district administration has started camps to free trade LPG (FTL) cylinders to factory workers and migrant labourers, amid concerns over supply gaps and black marketing of “chotu” cylinders.Officials said the camps are being held in coordination with Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to ensure direct delivery to end users. Workers without an LPG connection are also being registered on the spot for new connection at the camp. Documentation and verification are being facilitated at the industrial sites themselves to increase uptake, officials added.The move comes days after labour unrest in parts of the city. Apart from low wages and long working hours, many workers flagged the rising cost and limited availability of LPG cylinders as a major burden on household budgets.District supply officer (DSO) Smriti Gautam told TOI that the camps began on Friday after the labourers’ protest, which began on April 11 and turned violent on April 13, calmed down.“Camps are being held in industrial areas like Sector 63, Phase-2, NSEZ and so on. While FTL cylinders are being distributed by the social organisations and gas agencies since April 8 across the district in areas where migrant labourers and anyone without a connection could get it, after the workers’ unrest, the district administration has focused the camps in industrial areas to target the factory workers especially,” said the DSO.The 5kg FTL cylinders are priced at Rs 1,550, of which Rs 900 is a refundable security deposit, which can be collected when the empty cylinder is returned, while the remaining amount is the price of the gas.Since Friday, more than 500 FTL cylinders have been distributed in the industrial areas during the camps, while over 4,000 such cylinders have been distributed during camps held across the district since April 8. Authorities said the outreach will be expanded to cover more industrial clusters in the coming days.“Around 50 more camps have been planned in the coming days, which will be held at the factories and industrial sites,” said Gautam.
