Noida/Ghaziabad: Queues have been getting longer outside several LPG dealers' offices while cylinder rates surged in the black market to three times the price as commercial cooking gas supplies were curtailed earlier this week because of the gas and oil supply chain disruption globally fomented by the West Asia conflict.
The rush was further fuelled on Wednesday after online gas booking through the IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) helpline and other digital platforms stopped working due to a technical snag in several parts of the region, prompting many domestic consumers to visit dealers' offices to place refill requests.
Ghaziabad district supply officer Amit Tiwari told TOI the sudden disruption in bookings was due to a temporary server problem, affecting the systems of oil marketing companies.
"There is a server issue right now. It should be resolved soon," Tiwari said, adding that bookings were expected to resume once the systems were restored.
District officials maintained that the technical glitch had affected booking systems mainly during the morning and had largely been resolved by afternoon. However, several residents TOI spoke with said the services remained unavailable in several areas until late evening.
"I tried calling the booking helpline several times but could not get through," said Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Raj Nagar Extension, who was waiting outside a gas agency in the area for several hours. "If the cylinder runs out before the next one arrives, it will become difficult to manage daily cooking."
Similar scenes were also seen at outlets in Noida sectors 12 and 57.
Shalini Verma, a resident of Sector 62, said she had been trying to book a refill since morning but could not connect through phone or digital platforms. She eventually travelled to an LPG agency in Sector 57 to submit an offline request.
"Even the agency phone numbers were not responding, so I came here," she said, standing in a queue of more than a dozen customers.
The disruption also exposed the difficulties faced by those who rely on others to navigate digital systems. "My house help was worried because her booking was not processed and she does not know how to use the mobile app," said Neha Arora, a resident of Indirapuram. "She asked me to help her, but the server was down everywhere."
On Monday, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas had directed oil companies to prioritise LPG supplies for domestic households and essential non-domestic sectors. It also extended the minimum waiting period for booking a domestic LPG refill to 25 days from 21. District authorities later clarified that supplies to households were continuing normally and constraints were limited largely to a small section of commercial establishments.
A gas agency operator in Noida said deliveries were continuing for customers whose previous cylinder had been supplied at least 25 days earlier and who had successfully placed a booking. But the longer waiting period, he added, had contributed to the rush at agency offices. "People are used to booking today and receiving a cylinder the next day. Now that is not happening, so they are getting anxious," the operator said.
Authorities, meanwhile, have stepped up monitoring to prevent hoarding and black marketing of fuel. Ghaziabad DM Ravindra Mander said four district-level teams had been formed to keep a watch on LPG cylinders as well as petrol and diesel sales. "If any dealer is found hoarding LPG cylinders or emptying petrol stock, strict action will be taken," he said, adding that there was no shortage of fuel or domestic LPG cylinders in the district.
His counterpart in Noida, Medha Roopam, held a meeting with LPG distributors and fuel retailers to review supply arrangements and prevent disruption for consumers.Officials told the district administration that the region currently had adequate stocks of domestic LPG cylinders, as well as sufficient petrol and diesel supplies, and urged residents not to panic.
Roopam directed petrol pump owners and LPG distributors to keep CCTV cameras operational, maintain proper sales records and monitor staff and repeat buyers to prevent irregularities.
District supply officer Smriti Gautam urged residents to book refills through their registered mobile numbers or authorised mobile applications of their LPG providers and to obtain cylinders only from approved distributors. She also appealed to the public not to believe rumours or misleading messages circulating on social media.
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