ISLAMABAD: Panic buying, long queues and delayed deliveries have spread across parts of India as fears over dwindling LPG supplies and rising prices triggered disorder at gas agencies and booking centres, Indian media reported on Friday.
The Times of India reported that domestic consumers rushed to book cylinders amid anxiety over shortages, while glitches in IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) and online booking systems worsened the chaos and pushed more people into physical queues and literal fights outside distribution offices.
The supply scare comes after a sharp increase in LPG prices earlier this month. Reuters reported that India raised the price of a 14.2-kg domestic cylinder by 60 Indian Rupees in Delhi to 913 rupees, while the price of a 19-kg commercial cylinder climbed to 1,883 Indian Rupees from 1,768.50 rupees. The hike added pressure on households as well as restaurants, hotels and small food businesses already worried about replenishment delays.
The disruption has been linked to the conflict in West Asia and shipping constraints affecting energy imports. The Telegraph India reported that India, which imported about 60% of its cooking gas demand last year, has seen LPG supplies disrupted by constraints on Gulf shipping routes, prompting the government to curb industrial and commercial use in order to protect household distribution. Reuters also said New Delhi has begun sourcing more LPG from countries such as the United States, Norway, Canada and Russia.
In a statement released by the Press Information Bureau, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, whose name is already embroiled in a scandal relating to 'Epstein files', said an LPG Control Order has directed refineries to maximise LPG output, raising production by 28% in five days. Even so, with panic spreading faster than official assurances, the LPG squeeze has already spilled into a full-blown public anxiety crisis.
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