Mamata plans protest against LPG, CNG crisis on March 16

Ahead of the forthcoming Assembly election, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to lead a protest rally in Kolkata against the intensifying LGP (liquefied petroleum gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas) crisis. 

The rally will begin at central Kolkata’s College Square at 4 p.m. and end at Dorina Crossing in Esplanade on Monday (March 16, 2026). Ms. Banerjee will be joined by party general secretary and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee. “Protesting the harassment faced by the general public due to skyrocketing price hikes in cooking gas and the Centre’s rash decisions regarding commercial gas supply,” a poster announcing the rally said.

On Thursday (March 12, 2026), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership strongly criticised the Union government’s foreign policy decisions. 

State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya criticised the Central government’s lack of preparation. “The war in West Asia did not begin overnight. It escalated over months… The Strait of Hormuz carries 85-90% of India’s LPG imports. None of this was a secret. Yet, no strategic reserves were built, no alternative supply routes activated, and no contingency protocols were triggered,” Ms. Bhattacharya said.  

The Centre had made “false promises” to the States and citizens that fuel would be available normally and no supply disruptions would take place, she alleged. 

On Wednesday (March 11, 2026), Ms. Banerjee held an emergency meeting with State government officers and representatives of oil marketing companies to manage the energy crisis in West Bengal. Refined gas produced at Bengal’s own refineries — Haldia, Kalyani, and Durgapur — should not be exported out of the State until the situation normalised, the CM told officials. 

“She also secured assurances on uninterrupted supply for mid-day meals, ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) centres, hospitals, and domestic consumers. All of which was supposed to be done by the PM but was instead done by our CM,” Ms. Bhattacharya said on Ms. Banerjee’s strategy to manage the crisis. 

The Minister said the demand for cylinders in the State had jumped from two lakh to six lakh bookings in a matter of days due to panic among the people. 

Trinamool MLA Tanmay Ghosh blamed the Central government’s foreign policy decisions for the ongoing crisis. “This government has reduced foreign affairs to a circus… They have failed in foreign policy multiple times, and the people of the country are bearing the brunt of it,” Mr. Ghosh said, adding that the Central government was not “atmanirbhar” (self-reliant) in any way. 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Samik Bhattacharya alleged the Trinamool was creating an artificial crisis. “The top leadership is holding distributors at gunpoint to hoard LPG cylinders,” Mr. Bhattacharya said. 

Ms. Bhattacharya countered his allegations. “We will ask dealers to stop selling and they will listen to us? They are saying all this because they have no rightful explanation to offer to the citizens,” she said. 

On March 8, the Chief Minister and other Trinamool leaders held protests over the increase in the price of domestic cooking gas by ₹60 per cylinder. 

Crisis deepens 

Long queues formed outside gas distribution offices across the State. Autorickshaw drivers waited in serpentine queues for hours to get their tanks filled at CNG pumps, and demanded hikes in fares. Some drivers reported waiting in lines from 4.30 a.m. only to get half a tank of gas five hours later. 

“A black market dealer in our locality is selling cylinders for ₹2,500 each and taking advantage of the crisis. People are buying in desperation because they cannot stop eating,” a resident of south Kolkata told The Hindu on Thursday (March 11, 2026). 

Several government hospitals switched to using privately owned gas cylinders to ensure patients received their meals, while other facilities, including Suri Hospital, and the Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital reported significant shortages.