A major cooking gas shortage is stalking Tamil Nadu as the state LPG tankers’ association has announced an ‘indefinite strike’ from January 12.

The truckers want, among other things, renewal of tenders by the fuel companies which had expired in September 2011.

The southern region bulk LPG transport owners association members on Friday announced that they wouldn’t operate tankers if the fuel firms fail to renew their tender. According to association secretary N.R. Karthik, 4,200 tankers are operated to transport LPG across the state.

“Last year, 3,600 LPG tankers were operated. The number of tankers has been increased to meet the LPG demand. But the fuel firms IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), BPC (Bharat Petroleum Co-rporation) and HPC (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation) are forcing us to do the service based on the previous tender fare,” he said.

He said a new tender would be announced once in three years. “Though the previous tender expired last September, we were not provided the renewed fare for the transport service now. Our strike will increase LPG demand in the state,” he cautioned.

The IOC spokesperson in Chennai said he couldn’t establish contact with officials in the headquarters. “This is not a Tamil Nadu issue.

This is a national issue. We couldn’t establish contact with our headquarters,” he said.