LPG crisis: State steps in to ensure uninterrupted food supply at Guntur GGH

Guntur: Prompt intervention by the state govt ensured that food supply to patients at the Govt General Hospital (GGH), Guntur, continued without disruption, despite concerns over LPG availability in the wake of the ongoing West Asia crisis. GGH, Guntur, is one of the biggest public healthcare institutions in the state, with nearly 1,300 inpatient beds.The diet canteen at the hospital prepares and serves food to nearly 1,300 inpatients every day, besides providing meals to an equal number of attendants. The canteen operator supplies breakfast, lunch and dinner strictly according to the menu prescribed by the state govt for patients admitted in govt hospitals. However, the contractor managing the diet canteen recently faced a crisis when LPG cylinder supplies were disrupted following supply constraints linked to the West Asia situation. With the hospital kitchen heavily dependent on LPG cylinders for cooking large quantities of food, the contractor feared that food preparation for nearly 2,000 people could be affected.Alarmed by the situation, the contractor sent an urgent representation to the district collector and the hospital superintendent, explaining the potential disruption in food services. Responding swiftly, the district collector directed the LPG distributor supplying cylinders to the hospital canteen to immediately provide domestic cylinders without imposing any restrictions. Officials said the contractor requires at least 8 to 10 cylinders daily to prepare meals for patients and attendants, apart from cooking subsidised food supplied to doctors and postgraduate medical students on duty at the hospital. "With the district administration's intervention, there will be no shortage of LPG for cooking at the hospital kitchen, as we were permitted to use domestic cylinders," a senior hospital official said.Meanwhile, minister Nadendla Manohar directed all district collectors across the state to personally monitor food supply arrangements for patients at govt general hospitals and district hospitals. The minister warned the officials that strict action would be taken if any complaints arose regarding the disruption of food supply to patients due to LPG shortages. He also instructed district collectors to constitute high-level monitoring committees to oversee the preparation and supply of food to patients in govt hospitals, to ensure that services continued smoothly without any inconvenience.