Punjab: Locals block traffic in protest against LPG crisis
Phagwara (PTI): Angry locals blocked vehicular traffic for about 15 minutes near Bhagwan Valmiki Chowk on Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road here on Friday, citing an alleged shortage of cooking gas.
Eyewitness accounts said that the blockade caused significant inconvenience to commuters.
The disruption was resolved after the intervention of Phagwara Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bharat Bhushan and the traffic police.
Shouting slogans against the government and some unscrupulous elements allegedly black marketing of LPG cylinders, several protesters claimed that they had been going without LPG cylinders for the last several weeks.
They specifically mentioned a nearby gas agency, claiming they had been instructed to book gas online either early in the morning or late at night.
"Even though we have booked the cylinders, we are forced to make repeated visits to the gas agency without receiving gas," an angry local stated.
They complained that well-connected individuals were able to obtain LPG cylinders with just a phone call, while the less fortunate were struggling to secure their supply.
The shutters of the gas agency in question were closed, and no statement could be obtained from its owner.
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Five held with hydroponic weed worth Rs 8 crore at Goa airport
Panaji, Mar 27 (PTI): The Goa Customs have arrested five passengers with 23.8 kg of hydroponic weed worth more than Rs 8 crore at the Manohar International Airport (MIA), officials said on Friday.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted passengers who arrived from Bangkok (Thailand) and Abu Dhabi via Muscat on Wednesday, Customs Commissioner Sunil B Deshmukh said.
He said that the AIU seized 23.8 kg of the contraband concealed inside food packets in the passengers' checked-in baggage.
The substance was found to be hydroponic weed after testing, and the passengers were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the official said in a statement.
The seized contraband is worth more than Rs 8 crore in the black market, he said, adding that a probe is underway in the case.
