Officials of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (LPG division) seized 28 LPG cylinders that were found misused during surprise checks carried out across the city and the district over the last one week.
A team led by Deputy Managers (LPG-IOCL) Ramya Nair and N. Geetha carried out the checks in eateries, mess and bakeries. The raid concentrated mainly on complaint-prone areas such as 100 feet road, Sivananda Colony, Selvapuram, Flower Market, Vysial Street, Pappa Naickenpalayam, Puliakulam, Ramanathapuram, Singanallur and Hope College areas. The officials found the subsidised domestic LPG cylinders used for commercial purposes.
They said stringent action would be taken against those who misused and diverted the domestic cylinders for getting extra money. Distributors of LPG had been cautioned that if collusion of the agency or delivery boys was detected, action would be taken against them as well.
A domestic subsidised LPG cylinder weighing 14.2 kg costs around Rs. 352.80 while a commercial cylinder without subsidy weighing 19 kg costs Rs. 1,066. Hence, there is an attempt to divert the domestic cylinders for commercial purposes.
Any misuse of domestic LPG cylinders could be informed to the office of the Senior Area Manager of Indane (LPG Division) of IOC on Avanashi Road, the officials said. In the event of any mishap at places where the subsidised domestic LPG cylinders were misused, the victims would go without the insurance benefits, they added.
