Hyderabad: A massive rise in panic buying has led to the collapse of the LPG reservation system at several distribution points across Telangana.
According to Telangana LPG Distributors Association president Kalluri Jagan Mohan Reddy, the sudden rise in orders has paralyzed the distribution network, disrupting operations at several LPG distribution centers in the state.
He said the unexpected rush of consumers to reserve cylinders had strained the system, leading to technical and operational difficulties at multiple locations on Thursday.
“There is no problem as far as domestic cylinders are concerned. There are regular supplies as well. But there is panic booking among consumers, so the footfall is increasing. Since there is a sudden increase in business by 50 per cent, there is a delay in supply. This is due to panic buying,” Reddy told PTI.
Since the delivery of LPG cylinders depends on the OTP system, an India-based network of documentation across the country, there is huge pressure at distribution points.
There are 810 LPG distributors in Telangana with 1.30 crore consumers and around 60 lakh LPG cylinders are supplied domestically every month.
Reddy said 82 per cent of consumers are local, while the remaining 18 per cent belong to the commercial category.
“For the past three-four days, there has been almost no supply of commercial cylinders. Some people must have some old stock and may try to sell it at a premium price,” he said in response to a question about black marketing of LPG cylinders.
There are five cooking gas bottling plants in Telangana – three at Charlapalli near here, and one each in Kamalapur and Thimmapur.
Telangana Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy had called a meeting with representatives of the oil company on Friday to examine whether there is a supply shortage and how to proceed.
Chief Secretary to the state government K Ramakrishna Rao will also attend the meeting, he said.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
