India, Sept. 19 -- The use of commercial gas cylinders has been made mandatory in Thane for preparing 'mahaprasad' and large community meals during Ganeshotsav and other upcoming festivals, a district official said on Saturday.The directive issued by Thane Assistant District Supply Officer Yogesh Jangle to all tehsildars in the district aims to prevent the misuse of subsidized domestic gas cylinders and eliminate the risk of severe fire accidents during the festive period, he added.

Many public Ganesh mandals routinely use domestic cylinders for cooking large quantities of food, either out of ignorance or negligence, the official said.

"However, differences exist between domestic and commercial cylinders regarding overall capacity, burn...