New Delhi: Amid reports of a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, a section of hotels and restaurants operating in Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu have declared a holiday today. On March 10, the hotel association had voiced concern over sustaining their businesses as the existing stock of commercial LPG “would be sufficient to run the outlet only for one or two days”. Most of the restaurants have also cut the number of food items offered to customers and opted to prepare foods that require minimal usage of the commercial LPG cylinders.
Oil companies’ representatives meet in Bengaluru
A meeting with representatives of oil companies began in Bengaluru, led by Karnataka’s Food Supply Minister K H Muniyappa. The meeting assumes significance in light of the disruption in commercial LPG supplies in various parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru.
Officials are discussing in detail the current stock of oil companies, the challenges faced in supplying commercial cylinders, and the need to ensure an uninterrupted supply of domestic cylinders. Some guidelines are also expected to emerge following the meeting.
Domestic LPG cylinder deliveries are delayed in Mumbai
In Mumbai, domestic LPG cylinders are not being delivered on time. Customers of both HP and Bharat Petroleum say deliveries are not happening even four to five days after booking. Due to the delay, many people are reaching the godown themselves and taking the cylinders home on their bikes.
Residents said that earlier cylinders were usually delivered to homes on the second day after booking. However, gas agencies are currently informing customers that deliveries may be delayed, prompting many to collect cylinders directly from the godown as a precaution.
Hotels, restaurants in Punjab and Haryana face hardships
With the widening West Asia conflict disrupting energy supplies, several hotels, restaurants and dhabas in Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday claimed they were facing hardships due to a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.
Harjeet Cheema, owner of a gas agency in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, said there was a significant shortage of commercial cylinders as refilled cylinders were not arriving from bottling plants.
“If cylinders are not refilled and supplied from the bottling plants, it becomes difficult for us to provide them to customers,” Cheema was quoted as saying by ANI.
He added that the price of a commercial LPG cylinder in Hoshiarpur currently stands at Rs 1,980.50.
Cheema also said that earlier, some relief in price was offered to customers at the agency level whenever possible, but the current shortage has made that difficult.
Meanwhile, crowds gathered in several parts of Bhopal on Wednesday as residents rushed to obtain gas cylinders amid growing concerns about availability. A particularly large crowd was seen outside the Indane Gas agency in Jawahar Chowk, where people complained that the phone number for booking cylinders was out of service, making it impossible to place orders. RK Gupta, owner of RK Distributor, which operates the agency, said the booking system was experiencing heavy traffic, with around 2,200 customers calling simultaneously, slowing the server.
