Oil marketing companies say LPG supply normal, blame panic bookings for backlog

Patna: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Tuesday said domestic LPG supply in Bihar is normal and denied talks of a major shortage, attributing the backlog in cylinder deliveries largely to panic bookings by consumers.Officials said restaurants in the state are receiving about 70% of the commercial LPG cylinders as per the requirements submitted by them. Domestic deliveries are continuing regularly, they added. Addressing a press meet organised in coordination with the agriculture department in Patna, A K Samantaray, executive director and state head of Bihar State Office (BSO), said the delivery backlog was mainly due to a sudden surge in bookings.Samantaray said new LPG connections have been put on hold for the time being due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, but maintained the overall supply chain remains stable.He said on an average 3.80 lakh LPG cylinders are being delivered daily across Bihar and a backlog of around 4.5 days is being cleared as per the scheduled booking list.Officials urged consumers not to assemble outside distributors’ offices or resort to panic bookings and instead wait for their cylinders to be delivered at home.Samantaray also clarified the process for obtaining 5kg LPG cylinders. He said students and migrant labourers can obtain them from the nearest distributor by submitting an Aadhaar card and depositing the cost of the cylinder and regulator once.They can exchange the empty cylinder for a sealed refilled one by depositing Rs 625 and submitting the empty cylinder.“There is no refilling of LPG cylinders,” he said.Samantaray said 2,085 cylinders have been seized and 119 FIRs registered against distributors for violations.He added Bihar receives an average of 4,550 kilolitres of petrol and 9,120 kilolitres of diesel daily through 3,697 retail outlets and eight depots.“LPG is being provided to approximately 23.3 million consumers across the state through 2,028 distributors. Priority is being accorded to the supply of LPG to hospitals, schools, and essential services. There are approximately 1 lakh PNG connections in the state, with 8,000 new connections added in the last month alone,” he said.Amit Mittal, state head (LPG) at Bharat Petroleum, said the situation has improved in recent days.“The supply chain has improved over the past few days and the situation is now completely under control. The production of an Aadhaar card has now been made mandatory for the distribution of 5kg LPG cylinders to enhance transparency and ensure that gas reaches the rightful beneficiaries.”Mittal said special camps will be organised in student-populated areas to spread awareness about the availability and safe use of LPG.Officials also rejected allegations of cylinder tampering, saying LPG cylinders are fitted with tamper-proof seals that make black marketing difficult.They also refuted claims of nozzle tampering at petrol pumps, stating dispensing nozzles have auto-cut sensors and consumers can lodge complaints if the mechanism fails.Officials said the rate of digital LPG bookings has increased from 70% to 93% in the last two months. The delivery authentication code (DAC) protocol is now being implemented in about 90% of deliveries.Director of agriculture Saurabh Suman Yadav said fertilizer availability is adequate across all districts and farmers should not panic.Inspection teams are conducting raids to prevent black marketing and overpricing. Coordination has also been established between the district administration and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in districts bordering Nepal to prevent fertilizer smuggling.Yadav said fertilizer stocks in the state as of April 6 stood at – urea 2.88 lakh metric tonnes, DAP 1.44 lakh metric tonnes, NPK 2.14 lakh metric tonnes, SSP 1.02 lakh metric tonnes and MOP 0.44 lakh metric tonnes.Up to April 6, 2026, FIRs have been registered against 11 establishments, licences of 13 fertiliser establishments revoked and those of 92 establishments suspended. Control rooms have also been set up at the state and district levels to assist farmers.