Kerala - Kochi   

Supply of LPG cylinders insufficient, say dealers

Staff Reporter

Distributors threaten stir if situation is not improving

KOCHI: The LPG distributors Apex Coordination Committee has held the oil companies responsible for the shortage of LPG cylinder supply in the State. The committee said the LPG cylinder supply from oil companies was much lower than the demand.

Talking to presspersons here on Wednesday, committee leaders N. Krishna Menon, George Mathew and V.A. Usuf said the distributors were not supplied cylinders even half the number of its consumer strength. At the same time, the oil companies claimed they supplied sufficient number of cylinders to the distributors. The false statement of the oil companies resulted in a situation where the customers were manhandling the field staff and other employees of the distributors believing that the cylinders were being diverted to others, they said.

There is a shortage of 3,000 to 15,000 cylinders for every distributor in the State and a delay of up to 40 days in the supply of cylinders. The backlog and short supply of cylinders started by the end of 2004 and became acute in 2005. The shortage reached its height during the last three months, they said.

The claim of the oil companies that the cylinders could be supplied to all the customers once in every 21 days was baseless, as the distributors were receiving sufficient number of cylinders leading to a longer delay in supply of cylinders to the consumers, they said.

The delay and backlog could be cleared in one month if the distributors were given sufficient number of cylinders. Though there was an increased demand for LPG cylinders during the Onam season, the cylinder supply was inadequate and a section of the distributors had to close the shop during the season, they said.

Strike threat

The LPG distributors would be forced to go in for a strike if the situation was not improving, they said.

The oil companies were attempting to reduce the consumption of LPG in the domestic segment in an attempt to reduce the loss they were reportedly incurring in the sale of cylinders. The companies were projecting different pictures regarding the loss from the sale of LPG cylinders for domestic consumers. At the same time, there was enough supply of cylinders in the commercial segment, they pointed out.

Bogus LPG filling

The committee leaders alleged that nearly 80 per cent of the autorickshaws that were using LPG as the fuel were unauthorisedly using the LPG supplied to the domestic consumers. The illegal filling of LPG meant for domestic consumers to the fuel tanks of autorickshaws was thriving in the State, they said. There was no effective mechanism to check the misuse of the LPG meant for domestic consumers. Though it was publicised that vehicles using the LPG meant for domestic consumers would be seized, no such action was taken in the State, they said.

Distributors demanded that the per head consumption rate of LPG should be reclassified, considering the size of the family and its needs. The increased use of LPG in festive seasons and changing climatic conditions should be taken into account while fixing the consumption rate and steps for supplying second cylinders to those who have obtained one LPG cylinder should also be considered.

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