LPG delays, transport woes deepen rural distress in U’khand

Dehradun: With the LPG refill booking period extended to 45 days, several parts of Uttarakhand continue to face supply and access issues, particularly in rural areas where poor connectivity and rising transport costs have compounded the problem. While officials said domestic supply remains normal, ground reports from districts such as Nainital, Uttarkashi, Almora, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar point to shortages, delays and heavy dependence on alternate fuels.Barely 6 km from the Uttarakhand high court in Nainital lies Gairi Khet, which still lacks a motorable road. Residents depend on an unpaved trail, and essential items, including LPG cylinders, are carried manually by labourers at high cost. "The concern is not the price hike but the cost of transporting the cylinder," said resident Dheeraj Arya. The situation worsens during the monsoon, when routes become nearly impassable and labourers demand higher wages due to the risk involved. "During bad weather, nothing reaches us at a reasonable cost," he added.In Bageshwar, a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has disrupted daily life and business, with hoteliers, restaurant owners and dhaba operators among the worst affected. Traders alleged the disruption began after restrictions linked to govt SOPs, but supply has yet to normalise.Neeraj Rawat, owner of "Crazy Kitchen", said, "With no gas supply, I had to travel to Delhi to arrange a large induction unit. Our sales have dropped to just 10%." He added that losses are mounting with each passing day.Many households have returned to wood-fired stoves. Deep Joshi from Saat Ratbe village said both his cylinders are empty. "We are now cooking on firewood as the shortage has persisted for several days," he said.Officials, however, maintained that the situation is under control. District supply officer GB Pandey said, "Domestic LPG supply remains normal and commercial cylinders are being distributed as per SOP guidelines."In Uttarkashi, LPG supply has not reached the district headquarters for the last three days. Sweet shop owner Gaurav Gummbar said production has fallen sharply from 100 kg to 25–30 kg daily. "We have started using a diesel furnace and have cancelled wedding and party orders for the next month. Several restaurants have also shut down due to the shortage," he said.District supply officer Ashish Kumar said LPG supply has not reached the headquarters, though stock is available in other parts of the district. At present, only 60 cylinders are available at the headquarters and are being reserved for essential services such as hospitals and the army. He added that a supply truck is expected to arrive soon.In Pithoragarh, officials said supply is normal except in Munsyari and Dharchula. "There are around 1.6 lakh domestic connections in the district, with a daily requirement of about 2,000 cylinders," said DSO Vinay Kumar.Except for two gas agencies in Pithoragarh town, the remaining eight fall under rural areas and are facing delays. Residents fear the situation may worsen in the coming weeks if supply gaps persist.In Dehradun, queues at gas agencies have reduced after directions to stop refilling at outlets and allow only bookings. However, the shortage of commercial LPG continues to affect establishments, many of which have curtailed menus or shifted to alternative fuels. Around 24,459 domestic and 269 commercial consumers were supplied with LPG cylinders on Friday. However, a backlog of about 93,000 domestic cylinders remains. Officials said a stock of 36,743 domestic and 1,592 commercial cylinders is currently available. The backlog arose after a technical glitch in the booking software three days ago, during which supplies were made by manually recording consumer details in registers.Meanwhile, inspections by quick response teams are ongoing. Gas cylinders are being supplied through home delivery using OTP verification. The district administration registered five cases of black marketing, sent three persons to jail, and seized 150 domestic, 139 commercial and seven small cylinders.(With inputs from Sonali, Yogesh, Ashish, Prem Punetha and Tanmayee)