No fuel crisis in state, says PSU; raids intensify to curb hoarding

Raipur: Amid concerns over possible fuel disruption in the wake of geopolitical volatility, public sector oil marketing companies have said Chhattisgarh continues to receive steady supplies of LPG, petrol and diesel, while the state has also stepped up raids to check black marketing, hoarding and rumour-driven panic buying.A statement issued by the state-level coordinator, oil industry, Chhattisgarh, said domestic LPG delivery is continuing as normal and oil firms are currently supplying around 72,000 LPG cylinders a day in the state, in line with regular demand. Officials said the state has adequate bottling and storage infrastructure, with five LPG bottling plants and a network of 539 distributors catering to consumers.The note said Chhattisgarh has around 63.59 lakh LPG consumers and that supply is being monitored continuously in coordination with the Centre. In March, against a domestic LPG requirement of 35,000 tonnes, the state received 35,073 tonnes.Officials said the average daily booking load, which had surged from 74,000 to 1.3 lakh in the second week of March due to panic and rumours, has now come down to about 64,000, indicating a return to normal demand patterns.Commercial LPG supplies have also been described as adequate. Against a requirement of 1,533 tonnes in April, the state had 1,745 tonnes available, while 885 tonnes had already been supplied to commercial consumers till April 19. Oil companies said domestic and commercial requirements are being met and there is no cause for concern over shortages.On the enforcement front, authorities said 419 raids have been conducted across districts so far, leading to seizure of 3,946 cylinders and registration of 105 FIRs. Surprise inspections have been carried out at LPG distributorships following complaints on social media and from customers. Officials said control rooms have been set up at the state and district levels, and a departmental helpline has also been made operational for public complaints.The advisory to consumers said, do not believe rumours, do not queue unnecessarily, and do not resort to panic buying. Oil companies said supplies remain normal and committed to maintaining seamless availability of cooking gas and transport fuels across Chhattisgarh.