Even as citizens make a beeline at the doorsteps of gas agencies in the city and district, Collector Jitendra Dudireiterated there was no shortage of domestic LPG cylinders and that there was no likelihood of this in the future. The district administration urged Puneites not to panic over the availability of domestic LPG cylinders.
“It is true that there is panic among the people. This is because it is being shown on the media that there is likely to be a shortage. People fear if they don’t get the cylinders, what will they do in days to come? This has led to panic purchasing and queues outside gas agencies. But their fears are true. Today, we have adequate stock to cater to Puneites and will be adequately stocked in the future too,” the Dudi told The Indian Express on Saturday.
Emphasising that citizens should avoid indulging in panic purchases, Dudi said, “We have sufficient quantity of cylinders.. I have assessed the availability of the stock and also discussed it with suppliers. Besides, Iran is not stopping our ships from moving out of Strait of Hormuz. The Central Government has taken pro-active steps to ensure availability of adequate stock.”
Explaining the 25-day norm to get an LPG cylinder, the Collector said, “A family gets a cylinder only after 25 days. The reason why the government put the 25-day norm is that some people might resort to selling the domestic cylinders for commercial purpose.”
Warning black-marketers, the Collector said, “If anyone is found indulging in black-marketing, hoarding or trying to sell cylinders at high prices, we will cancel the licence of such gas agencies and will also file an FIR against them. We have received some complaints about black-marketers. We are taking stern action against them. We have formed squads to carry out inspections everywhere in the district.”
Dudi said the government has also banned the sale of commercial cylinders. “But at the same time the government has set criteria to ensure supply to industries,” he said. He denied that the hotel industry will have to shut down their business if commercial LPG cylinders continue to remain in the banned list. “I don’t think such a scenario will emerge,” he said.
He added that gas agencies have been appealed to avoid long queues outside their premises. “We had told them to ensure that there no long queues outside their premises. In case people do not listen, gas agencies should seek police protection but they should do everything possible to avoid panic purchases and long queues,” he said.
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Manav Kamble, who runs a gas agency in Chinchwad area, said, “There is sheer panic among the customers to purchase cylinders. No matter how much we tried to ward off their fear of cylinders, they are in no mood to listen.”
Highlighting the surging demand for LPG cylinders, Kamble said, “We used to have 800 bookings every day. Now it has shot up to 1,600 cylinders per day. which only shows the desperation among the people.”
Kamble said, “Those who are bookings a cylinders are themselves carrying them away. We are giving them away because we do not want any quarrels at our premises. As a result, the waiting period for other customers has gone up.”
As for commercial cylinders, Kamble said, “We have stopped getting commercial cylinders from last Friday. We have not received a single commercial cylinder.”
Meanwhile, teams from the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection Department conducted inspections of gas agencies and hotels across Pimpri-Chinchwad for the second consecutive day on Friday. The teams verified physical stocks against online records and checked if more cylinders were being transported than what was officially booked.
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“Complaints have risen regarding businesses using domestic gas cylinders, causing hardships for household consumers. There are widespread allegations of hoarding and black marketing and therefore the inspection was carried out,” officials said.
Two special teams have been formed for Pimpri-Chinchwad. Each team has three divisional officers and two supply inspectors.
On Thursday, the teams inspected six gas agencies in Kasarwadi, Chinchwadgaon, and Ravet. The team members also interacted with citizens to understand their grievances.
On Friday, the crackdown continued on agencies and hotels in Dehu Road and the Aundh-Ravet BRT road area.
