While the resumption of commercial LPG distribution to Government canteens and hospitals suggests a slight improvement, the city’s LPG supply chain is far from normal. Local distributors find themselves on the front lines, facing the growing ire of frustrated citizens while the State Government and local authorities continue to issue reassurances of adequate stock. Similarly, the consumers in city have reported delays of several weeks in receiving refill cylinders despite completing payments in advance.

 

This highlights a gap between Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s, which has biggest consumer base in city, stated delivery timelines and actual service. LPG distributors have held that they endeavour to deliver cylinders within two working days. Consumers in Nagpur, however, described repeated delays that contradict this commitment. Similarly, city distributors are openly questioning the authorities claims of sufficient supply. Agencies that previously received two truckloads of cylinders daily are now struggling with a single load every alternate day. Given that a single truck load consists of 342 cylinders, this means more than 50 per cent cut in supply has severely disrupted the distribution network. 

 

 

New restrictive booking rules have been implemented such as for single cylinder connections consumers must wait 25 days post-delivery before booking a refill. For double cylinder connections, the waiting period has been extended to 35 days. Despite these rules, citizens complain that even after the mandatory waiting period, the actual delivery takes an additional 15 to 20 days due to the acute shortage. 

 

 

The crisis has been compounded by the recent surrender of distribution licence by Sangita Gas Agency, Nari Road, which led to its consumer base being diverted to other agencies. For instance, Orange HP Gas Agency, Gittikhadan, which already managed 20,000 connections, has been saddled with an additional 7,000 pawned consumers. “We requested additional supply to accommodate these new deliveries, but the quota remains stagnant or decreased,” a distributor shared. The agency is currently facing a backlog of 8,000 pending orders (5,000 existing and 3,000 from the Sangita agency) while being forced to operate on alternate-day supply loads. 

 

 

Kavita Shrivastava, a homemaker, has applied on-line for a refill cylinder through Karuna Gas Agency, an Indane distributor at Surendra Nagar. Her payment was confirmed instantly on March 18. However, more than one month later, no cylinder has arrived at her doorstep till now. “What do I cook on? The money has debited, and still there is no gas,” she complained. Sunita Raut, another homemaker, shared that she waited 15 days before visiting her agency in person, where she encountered long queues extending outside the office. “I went there early in the morning thinking I would avoid long queues,” she shared. However, she lamented that there were already around 20 people ahead of her. “Old women, men who had taken half a day off from work, everyone was standing there in the sun!” she exclaimed. Praful Patil, a cab driver, said, “The frustrating part is that nobody tells you anything,” he complained. He was furious that there is no message saying there is a delay, no call, nothing. Rekha Jogani, a 62 year old homemaker from Pratap Nagar, said she visited the agency three times in one week before receiving her cylinder. “My son is in Pune. I manage alone.

 

The agency is not close, I have to take an auto-rickshaw each time.” In each case, consumers said payment was completed well in advance on-line and confirmations were received promptly, while delivery timelines remained uncertain. Consumers said the delay is particularly severe given that LPG is an essential household fuel. A delay of 20 days disrupts daily life and leaves households struggling to manage cooking needs. Consumers are anguished as they claim that no official explanation has been provided at the distributor level. They say they had not been informed of delays or given revised delivery timelines and were advised only to wait when they contacted agencies.