Shaikpet Gas Outlet Faces Fury Over Cancelled Bookings
She described the past two months as particularly difficult for the agency and said the problems were expected to be resolved within a week.
Hyderabad:Long queues of LPG consumers at Madhavi Gas Agency in Shaikpet have brought renewed attention to complaints of delayed deliveries, cancelled bookings and customers being asked to collect cylinders from the agency, with several saying they had been waiting for days to get their refills. The agency, which caters to around 10 to 12 colonies, saw a large number of customers waiting at its premises on Tuesday. Consumers said the crowd had at times reached 50 to 100 people, with some spending hours waiting for their turn.
“I booked this cylinder on August 8 and have been following up since then. No one answers the calls. After all this, we got a message saying the customer was not available and the order has been cancelled,” said Ruhi Hassan, who had been waiting at the agency.
Another consumer, Pranay Raj, said he had been standing in the queue for nearly two hours. “People are fighting here because everyone is desperate to get their cylinders. I missed work today. This is an essential service and we need gas to cook at home,” he said.
Consumers alleged they were receiving messages claiming deliveries had been attempted when, according to them, no delivery agent had visited their homes. They said they were subsequently required to visit the agency or its godown and physically collect cylinders.
One consumer’s refill booking, made on August 7 with reference number 2-005892952662, was cancelled without consent. The customer received a message saying the booking had been cancelled because it had been selected “by mistake” and had to rebook. Another customer alleged the agency cited three unsuccessful delivery attempts, while the delivery person admitted he had not visited the area due to shortage.
A delivery agent said some colleagues had left because they were not being paid salaries “properly”. One customer claimed his brother was told at the agency that gas was not being supplied, while cylinders were allegedly available in the black market for ₹2,500.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, agency owner Madhavi Upadadiya attributed the problems to KYC-related issues and technical glitches. She said several LPG connections had been suspended after customers failed to complete KYC despite repeated reminders before July 31.
“Many of these customers have not completed their KYC despite being informed several times. Some of the affected customers are elderly and cannot complete the process on their own. Others need help transferring their connections or obtaining a no-objection certificate. We are trying to help them complete these processes,” she said.
Upadadiya added that the agency had also been dealing with technical problems with the CMS application and IndianOil’s systems due to heavy load. “IndianOil has also informed us about a system bug between 9.30 am and 6.30 pm and said that they are working on it,” she said.
She described the past two months as particularly difficult for the agency and said the problems were expected to be resolved within a week.
IndianOil’s Citizen Charter prescribes delivery within seven working days, subject to availability of stocks, while more recent communication has indicated an average waiting period of around 2.5 days.
