Kolkata, March 12 -- Amid an acute LPG shortage affecting major parts of West Bengal, the Centre's claim that the normal delivery cycle for domestic cylinders remains at 2.5 days appears paradoxical.
The Centre, on Tuesday, urged consumers to avoid panic booking, claiming domestic LPG cylinders are available on a 2.5-day cycle. However, the situation in Bengal tells a different story, with restaurant associations reporting that commercial LPG supplies have either stopped or become irregular in recent days, raising concerns over the hospitality sector's ability to operate.
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha about the steps taken by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in response to global energy supply disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict.
He briefed the House on measures being implemented to ensure the continued availability of petroleum products and safeguard India's energy security amid the evolving international situation.
Meanwhile, Indane's IVR system, the centralised server that allows a telephonic booking, has not been working for the past couple of days. An Indian Oil official said that the system crashed because of the enormous surge in call volume. Distributors and company officials described the situation as a result of panic booking caused by the war in West Asia.
An Indane consumer in Kolkata said he repeatedly tried to book a cylinder through the centralised server but failed. Another resident of Baranagar reported that when he visited the Indane Baranagar gas centre on Thursday morning for a manual booking, staff initially refused to accept it. Many, including senior citizens, were waiting in line.
A centre employee said that with demand having doubled, available stock could serve only half of the customers. The booking was eventually accepted, but with a disclaimer that the centre could not guarantee when the cylinder would be delivered.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has held the Centre responsible for the crisis. She stated that the situation could have been averted if there had been adequate planning.
Mamata Banerjee, along with her party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, is set to undertake a massive protest rally from College Square to Dorina Crossing on March 16 against the skyrocketing LPG price and the Centre's inaction.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.