Several LPG consumers who have not signed for the Pahal scheme say their connections have been blocked. They have been forced to visit the local offices to unblock their accounts.
A resident of Anna Nagar realised his connection was blocked when he tried to book a refill through the IVRS (Interactive Voice Response system). “Only connections that have not been used for over six months are blocked, but I use mine every month,” he said adding that officials said connections were being blocked to avoid last minute rush near the deadline of the Pahal scheme on March 31.
An LPG dealer admitted that connections were being blocked by one of the oil companies.
“Dealers have no hand in this. We have made a list of those who have not joined,” he said.
Agencies have been sending SMS and asking delivery boys to hand out application forms to people who have not yet joined the Pahal scheme.
Oil company sources said connections may have been blocked ‘by mistake’.
“Only connections that remain unused are blocked. We have received instructions from the Central government not to block connections for those who have not joined the scheme,” said a source.
