Jalandhar, March 14 -- Operations in the steel-forging and agro industries have been severely hit by a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders across the state, amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Nearly 300 industries in the Jalandhar district rely entirely on commercial LPG to produce high-strength metal components through hot forging techniques. Ashwani Kumar, president of Hand Tools Manufacturing and Exporters Association, said due to the present constraints in LPG supplies arising out of the prevailing geopolitical situation, their industrial production activities are facing serious disruption. "Our production lines require LPG for critical heat processing operations and any interruption in supply directly affects manufacturing commitments and industrial output," said Sharma, adding that on an average, a single forging industrial unit requires 425 kg LPG per day for production line operations. Meanwhile, Narinder Singh Saggu, president of Jalandhar Industrial Focal Point Extension Association, said amid the shortage of commercial LPG, the industrialists will suffer financial losses with no other option to continue with the operations. "Earlier, we used light diesel engine oil but shifted to commercial LPG due to pollution concerns," he said. He added that the central government should ensure uninterrupted supply of LPG, as even the huge number of labourers are in dilemma. "Almost all eatery joints, from where the labourers used to have their meals, were shut due to shortage of LPG," Saggu said. The industrialists demanded prioritisation of essential non-domestic LPG requirements at the earliest and grant approval for regulated supply through the nearest oil marketing companies and commercial LPG suppliers. "An early approval will help us maintain production continuity, protect employment of workers and meet our industrial commitments," said Ashwani Sharma. Jalandhar deputy commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal said a high-level committee has already been constituted to regulate the supply of commercial LPG and to keep a tab on price escalation, hoarding and black marketing. "The directions have been issued to the oil marketing companies to provide stock data so that it could be regulated conveniently to run industrial operations," Aggarwal said. He added that there is no dearth of domestic LPG. "The administration is closely monitoring the stock of LPG, diesel and petrol to ensure uninterrupted supply," he said....