LPG crisis: Long queues at booking centres, food outlets fear closure

Dehradun: The LPG supply crunch caused by the Iran war triggered long queues outside gas booking and refilling centres across Uttarakhand with residents reporting difficulties in placing online bookings and delays in cylinder deliveries.Customers at several centres said booking through phone numbers and mobile apps was not going through, forcing many to queue up physically at distribution points. "The contact number for online booking is no longer working, the OTP on the app isn't coming through, and here at the centre the queue remains long. We are being told the supply vehicle hasn't come in three days," said a customer waiting at a centre in Jakhan in Dehradun. The major brunt of the problem is being faced by small vendors who no longer have access to regular commercial supply. A street food vendor at Clock Tower in the capital said that if his regular cylinder is not delivered this weekend, he will not be able to operate his stall from next week.Manager of Himani Gas Agency in Dalanwal, Anil Kumar Raturi, told TOI that on Friday, two trucks of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (Indane) reached the centre, which went on priority for prior bookings. "Hope we will get more cylinders on Saturday, so it will be more relief for us," he added.Ivan Gyan, 75, a resident of Rajpur Road, came to the agency to book a cylinder. He said, "It became a major hassle to book a cylinder through online platforms. WhatsApp, missed calls, and SMS/IVRS booking are not working anymore."In the capital as well as Haridwar district, the administrations set up control rooms to monitor this crisis, and enforcement against black marketing and hoarding increased. Officials claim that more than the reduction in supply, it is panic hoarding that is causing the problem.The shortage of commercial LPG cylinders began to severely affect restaurants, hotels, and small food businesses in Udham Singh Nagar district, forcing many establishments to alter their cooking methods and revise their menus.With commercial cylinders unavailable for the past several days, several restaurants and roadside eateries started preparing rotis on tandoors or using induction cooktops instead of LPG stoves. Hotel and restaurant operators say that if the crisis continues, many establishments could be pushed to the brink of closure, leaving several workers unemployed.Sweet shop owner Dinesh Agrawal from Dineshpur said the shortage began to disrupt the preparation of sweets and other food items. "If cylinders are not supplied soon, restaurant and hotel business will suffer serious losses," he said. Hotelier Deepak Kapdi added most establishments are relying on alternative cooking arrangements. Restaurant owner Surendra Singh said the shortage forced him to scale down production. "We started preparing sweets and other food items in limited quantities," he said.The crisis also hit small vendors and households. Manoj Pandey, who runs a tea stall in the city, said, "My cylinder finished two days ago and work came to a halt. Now I am planning to install a small wood-fired stove."Transit Camp resident Arjun Kumar said he stood in queues for three days. "I work in a factory, but for three days I left work to stand in the queue for a cylinder. Neither are cylinders available nor is booking possible. At home, my wife is cooking on firewood," he added.Meanwhile, Baby Rani of Jagatpura alleged that LPG was being sold illegally at exorbitant price. "I am buying gas in the black market at Rs 200 per kg to cook food for my kids," she said.In a related development, the district administration on Friday carried out a raid against illegal LPG refilling in the Gadarpur tehsil area following a tip-off. Acting under supervision of sub-divisional magistrate Richa Singh, a joint team of the revenue and food and civil supplies department inspected a shop in Ramjeevanpur, Gadarpur.During the inspection, the team seized nine domestic and three commercial LPG cylinders, along with a gas refilling kit being used for illegal refilling. Taking the matter seriously, the administration initiated action against the accused under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.Residents of rural areas in Bageshwar district are facing significant hardship too.A large crowd of consumers gathered outside Garud Indane Gas Agency in Garud from early Tuesday to collect cylinders. People started lining up outside the agency around 8am, but several consumers said they waited for hours without success.Many villagers, particularly elderly, said they are unfamiliar with the online booking process. Hema Devi, 50, said the new system made it difficult for people in rural areas to access cooking gas. "Earlier, we used to leave our booking passbook at the agency and the cylinder would be refilled. Now our gas is about to run out and we don't know how to complete the booking online," she said. Another consumer, Nandi Devi, said the OTP required to complete the booking is not appearing on mobile phones due to server congestion. "Without the OTP, the booking cannot be completed," she said.The disruption also affected small businesses. Pankaj, who runs a roadside eatery, said he shut his small hotel on Friday after failing to get a cylinder. Tea stall owner Jeevan Karki said he is managing temporarily by bringing tea from home in a thermos, adding the arrangement is not sustainable for long.Officials acknowledged the problem and said efforts are underway to restore the system. District supply officer GB Pandey said the issue arose due to a temporary technical glitch in the online portal of Indian Oil Corporation. "The problem is being resolved and normal services will resume soon," he said.Long queues were noticed in Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi and Munsyari as well.(Inputs from Tanmayee, Sukanta, Anmol, Ashish, Yogesh, Prem Punetha, Nawaz, Aakash)