Hyderabad: While a shortage of LPG cylinders in the run-up to Sankranti due to the recent truckers’ strike has residents worried, officials of the oil and gas industry assured that normalcy would be restored in a few days.
D. Venkat, manager of Eswar Agencies in Ambedkarnagar, Ghatkesar, said, “There is shortage of gas cylinders. We need a load of cylinders every day to meet our requirements, but we are getting them on alternate days from Cherlapally *gas filling station). Some people are coming to take cylinders on their own to our agency instead of waiting for the delivery.”
A dealer in Adilabad, not wanting to be named, said, “Earlier, we used to get daily supply of LPG from Hyderabad, but we are getting the supply on alternate days now.”
The source estimated that the delivery of 300 to 500 truckloads of gas cylinders must have been disturbed per day during the strike, which has caused a supply bump.
D. Ashok Kumar, president, Greater Hyderabad LPG Distributors Association, who runs the Mahalakshmi LPG Centre in Secunderabad, said, “There is shortage of gas cylinders. Truck drivers did not work on January 1 and the all-India strike by the truck drivers on January 2 and 3 created supply issues as the chain broke.”
“After the strike, owing to rumours that it might continue, we had too many bookings akin to people rushing to petrol pumps. Some of the customers did not take delivery of their cylinders, expecting some decision on the Maha Lakshmi scheme which offers a subsidy of Rs 500 on each cylinder,” he said. On the other hands, there was a demand spike due to the festival
A source in the oil industry said, “There is no shortage of gas and workers are working four to five hours more to meet the surge in demand owing to the festival. The demand for petrol and diesel falls and that for LPG increases during festivals but because of the strike, there is a small disturbance in supply. Hyderabad will not have shortage as the gas comes by pipeline from Mangalore. The state needs 57 lakh gas cylinders per month. It goes up by three to four lakhs when there is demand. It is basically panic buying. When people see bigger queues, they tend to fill up their petrol tank.”
