The Hindu : New Delhi News : Cooking gas crisis leads to panic booking in Capital

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Saturday, Feb 09, 2008
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Cooking gas crisis leads to panic booking in Capital

Staff Reporter

Despite assurances by the Union Petroleum Ministry

The crisis is said to be for cylinders of HPCL and BPCL
Waiting period has been extended to anywhere between a week and a fortnight

NEW DELHI: Despite assurances by the Union Petroleum Ministry and LPG suppliers Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, several households in the Capital have been left with no choice but to resort to panic booking of cooking gas.

The crisis is said to be for cylinders of HPCL and BPCL, with market leader Indian Oil facing pressure from consumers to fill the backlog. Though normally gas cylinders are delivered within two days, the waiting period has now been extended to anywhere between a week and a fortnight owing to the crisis.

It is learnt that because of the prolonged winter season, consumption of cooking gas has gone up by 20 to 30 per cent.

Information Technology professional Anjali Gupta said: “We have been asked by our Bharat Gas dealer to wait for a week at least. We have our neighbours coming to ask for spare cylinders, but we can do nothing but complain about the shortage and wait.”

“The same 14.4 kg LPG cylinder that we get through the agency at Rs 293 is being sold in retail to the poor at the rate of Rs.80 per kg during this crisis period. Moreover, those who cannot afford it have no option but to go in for pollution-causing alternatives for heating such as burning firewood and expensive coal”, she added.

The Government has asked public sector oil companies to increase supply of domestic LPG to ease shortages in availability of the cooking gas in many parts of the country.

“There are huge diversions taking place. LPG cylinders meant for domestic use are finding way to restaurants and hotels and even wedding meals are being cooked on domestic gas. That is gross misuse and has resulted in inconvenience to household users in some parts of the country,” said a Petroleum Ministry official.

Admitting LPG bottling plant constraints with some companies, he said the plants have been asked to operate even on holidays to clear the backlog.

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