Consumers in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram have been complaining about delays in supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refills ever since Pongal festival.
Though oil industry sources say this is true of every festival, this time the delays have been for 4-5 days and for many consumers who have been used to very minimal wait, it is causing inconvenience. “It has been four days since I booked a refill and I am yet to get it. As I have a second cylinder and also an induction stove, there is no hurry. But I am surprised at the delay,” said Shalini, a home-maker of Medavakkam.
Customers who booked on the day before Pongal, got their cylinders only on Tuesday. Distributors cited closure of bottling plants for Pongal and also on account of Bharat Bandh; delivery personnel going on leave and priority to commercial cylinders as reasons for the backlog in supplies. Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that some agencies had up to 5,000 cylinders to be distributed and they were unable to cope up with the demand. “Agencies say they do not have enough supplies either. In a competitive environment when subsidies are being withdrawn and consumers pay for the full cylinder, oil companies should put in place a system whereby such backlog does not happen,” he said.
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“Though bottling plants had operated on Sundays, our trucks were made to wait for supplies. Without refills, our customers are made to wait. It will take a few more days for the situation to normalise. Spares required as replacements for cylinders that have been moved for leak testing are also not available,” said a distributor. Another section of distributors said there was additional demand due to panic booking by customers, who were worried about availability of cylinders. “The festival also drives up consumption. A portion of deliveries could not be made due to homes being locked during the long week of holidays,” said a distributor.
Oil industry sources said bottling plants were being asked to work extra hours to clear additional demand. “The backlog is very minimal and lesser than two days. The situation is near normal in many areas,” explained a senior official.