Ranchi LPG Doorstep Delivery Fails: Consumers Queue for Hours Amidst Black Market Bust

Ranchi: The state food and civil supplies minister Irfan Ansari’s directive to ensure doorstep delivery of LPG cylinders appears to have fallen flat, with residents still forced to queue up for hours to secure refills.In the city’s Chutia area, long lines of consumers were seen on Friday to get refills after they failed to get cylinders at their doorsteps despite booking cylinders about a month ago. A consumer, Vijay Bading, who queued up to obtain a refill from 4:30 am to 1 pm on Friday, said, “I had booked for a refill three weeks ago and also received delivery authentication code twice. Despite that, I have not yet received a refill.” Sub-divisional officer (SDO) (sadar) Kumar Rajat said that the district administration has put a total ban on purchasing LPG refills on roads. “The consumers must not queue up on roads and remain assured that they will be provided refills only at their doorsteps,” the SDO added.In a related development, a team of district administration officials and police uncovered an alleged black market racket in the Chutia area on Thursday night. During the raid, the team recovered over 200 LPG cylinders - both commercial and domestic - from a residence in the area.