Lucknow, Even though the queues outside gas agencies have started reducing, the problem of LPG supply persists in the city, due to which consumers are worried about delayed delivery. But reports on the ground indicate that the disruption is not due to actual depletion of domestic gas reserves, but due to panic buying and system overload.
Ground checks conducted by HT at several LPG agencies revealed that the domestic LPG supply situation in Lucknow is showing early signs of improvement, but relief remains inconsistent across the city. Although the crowd has reduced compared to previous days, concern is still high among consumers. Many of the visiting agencies are either keeping an eye on delayed deliveries or trying to book a second cylinder within a short time due to fear of further shortage.
While some gas agencies report normal operations and reduced congestion, others continue to struggle with long queues and delayed deliveries, highlighting gaps in last-mile delivery.
The situation at Raj Gas Service located in Aliganj appeared to be largely under control on Tuesday afternoon. With no crowd visible around 3 pm, officials said deliveries for bookings till March 15 had been completed.
The agency, which caters to over 11,000 consumers in areas like Aliganj and Triveni Nagar, has increased its daily distribution from around 280 cylinders to over 350. However, demand has also increased, with around 500 bookings being received daily.
Officials attributed the smooth operations to better communication with customers. “We have displayed clear information about booking dates. Consumers are aware, so they do not gather unnecessarily,” an official said.
A similar trend was seen at Arunodaya Gas Agency, where the number of customers remained low and several supply trucks were deployed to expedite deliveries.
At Vinayak Gas Service near Lekhraj Metro station on Ayodhya Road, there was chaos and a huge crowd on Tuesday morning due to supply disruption a day earlier. Due to non-delivery of cylinders on Monday, residents started standing in line as early as 6 am.
By the time the center opened at 8 a.m., the queue had reached the main Ayodhya Road. By 8:30 a.m., more than 100 people were waiting, many unsure when they would get their cylinder.
Anil Sharma, who arrived around 7 am, said that when he reached there the queue was already long.
Residents expressed frustration at the gap between government claims and actual conditions. While officials say LPG cylinders are being delivered efficiently through booking, consumers said they are still being forced to visit agencies and wait in queues.
“The government says book from home and the cylinder will be delivered. But the situation here is quite the opposite,” said one of the people standing in the queue.
For many families, the delays are disrupting daily life. Ambika Prasad said that she had booked a cylinder three days ago and had also gone to the agency earlier, but the supply had not arrived.
He lamented, “It has become difficult to cook because there is no gas at home. We have been told that there is no shortage and the cylinder will be delivered to the home. But looking at these queues, it seems that those claims do not make much sense.”
Agency employees said that those who were not given cylinders have not yet received the DAC number. The agency has around 20,000 consumers and usually it distributes around 500 cylinders per day, but recently the agency has been distributing around 600 cylinders every day.
Meanwhile, officials at a gas agency in Kalyanpur, which supplies Khurram Nagar, Jankipuram, Vikas Nagar, Sugamau and surrounding areas, said there has been a marginal improvement in the situation. Agency manager Jitendra Kumar Shukla said the queues were quite long on Monday, but reduced by Tuesday.
“Customers are still coming in with enquiries. Most of them are those who have booked the second cylinder within 25 days due to the fear of shortage,” he said.
On the delay, Shukla said that cylinders booked on March 9 were being delivered on Tuesday, indicating a delay of several days. “The supply is limited. If we get more cylinders, the delivery can be faster. Earlier bookings are being fulfilled first…this is also a reason for the delay,” he said. He also pointed out that there are technical issues with SMS booking and advised consumers to use the mobile app instead.
However, less tech-savvy people are facing difficulties with the app. Many people who are not familiar with using mobile applications are seeking help from others in the agency. One such person was Pankaj Singh Bharti of Kalyanpur. He said he had booked a cylinder on March 15 and received a message saying confirmation would be sent within 24 hours. However, even as of March 17, they had not received any confirmation.
Officials admitted that there is a problem in booking through SMS, action is being taken against those booking through the app.
Shukla said that as of Tuesday afternoon, 3,299 LPG cylinders were pending for delivery at his centre. This figure also includes 261 bookings received on Tuesday alone.
Regarding supplies, he said the highest number of cylinders were received on Monday, when 720 cylinders were distributed to the agency. By Tuesday afternoon, 261 cylinders had been received and they expected to receive 240 more cylinders by the end of the day.
Regarding delivery, he said that 355 cylinders were delivered from morning to 2 pm on Tuesday. These also include bookings made on March 9 and 10.
A slightly different situation was seen at another gas agency in Aliganj. Although there was not much crowd, about 15 people were seen standing at three counters of the office. Some people were unable to book cylinders through SMS, while others reported that despite successful booking and confirmation messages, delivery had not been made even after five days.
These included 69-year-old Shaiza Bano, who cried at the counter while pleading with the authorities. He said that he had received the booking confirmation on March 10 but he has not received the cylinder yet. “It is Ramzan and we are unable to cook food. We are helpless,” he said. However, his problem was later resolved and a delivery agent was instructed to deliver the cylinder to his residence.
As of now, the situation on the ground suggests that the pressure on agencies has eased a bit, but supply shortage and panic-induced demand have kept the system under stress.
Officials admitted that while overall remittances have increased, synchronizing supplies with last-mile delivery remains a challenge.
ADM (Civil Supplies) Jyoti Gautam said the situation is improving but is not stable yet. “It will take some time to restore normalcy at all outlets,” he said.
According to Sanjay Bhandari, executive director and state head of Indian Oil Corporation, LPG demand has almost doubled across the state.
“Bookings have increased to 13 lakh per day from earlier 7 lakh, while the supply remains around 7 lakh cylinders per day. We are hopeful that the backlog will be cleared soon,” he said.
Booking confirmed, delivery rejected
Some consumers reported receiving booking confirmation, but were still denied the cylinder.
Sharmila Devi, a resident of Indira Nagar, said that a booking message had come on her phone but the agency refused to give her the cylinder. Instead he was asked to go to the agency’s office in Munshipulia to collect the physical slip.
“I kept trying for a long time, but in the end I returned empty handed,” she said. “I have the booking confirmation, yet they are not giving the cylinder.”
Buyer disappointed with delay in OTP
Despite adequate stock at some stores, the delay in receiving OTP has become a hindrance for consumers.
Arunodaya Gas Agency, which serves around 40,000 consumers in Alambagh, Cantt, Hussainganj, South City and Charbagh, supplied around 1,000 cylinders daily. However, customers without OTP verification are being asked to wait.
Said Sagar Kumar, resident of Topkhana Cantt. “We have not received the DAC number for three days. Without it, there is no way to get the cylinder, even if stock is available,” he said.
Illegal refilling racket busted in Kanpur
A joint team of supply department and police arrested one person on Tuesday after busting an illegal LPG refilling operation in Barra. Officials said the raid was conducted at a tin-shed structure on a plot in Keshavnagar area.
District supply inspector Ram Niranjan, who lodged the complaint at Barra police station, said a team led by regional food officials found evidence of unauthorized refilling at the site.
Three domestic cylinders were recovered – two filled and one partially used. The officials also seized a small empty cylinder, a refilling nozzle and 76 cylinder caps, revealing a makeshift set-up used to transfer the gas.
Station in-charge (Barra) Ravindra Srivastava said that the accused has been taken into custody and a case has been registered.
