Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner warns LPG distributors against black-market sale of cylinders

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Deputy Commissioner Ikram Shariff chairing a meeting of the District-Level Monitoring Committee on LPG supply and distribution in Kalaburagi on Friday (June 5). | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Deputy Commissioner Ikram Shariff warned LPG distributors of strict action if domestic cooking gas cylinders are found being sold in the black market anywhere in the district, and promised the public that there was no shortage of LPG despite concerns arising from the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

He was chairing a meeting of the District-Level Monitoring Committee in Kalaburagi on Friday (June 5). The committee has been constituted to oversee the supply and distribution of domestic and commercial LPG cylinders. Mr. Shariff said distributors must ensure that domestic LPG cylinders are supplied to consumers strictly on a first-booked, first-delivered basis.

He directed officials to take stringent action under the Essential Commodities Act against anyone found indulging in unauthorised stocking or illegal refilling of cylinders. Domestic LPG cylinders should not be diverted for commercial use by hotels or other establishments under any circumstances, he said, directing Food Department officials to conduct inspections.

The Deputy Commissioner also took exception to the longer waiting period imposed by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for refilling domestic cylinders in urban areas. Food Department in-charge deputy director Munawar Daula informed those present at the meeting that while urban consumers are generally eligible to book refills after 25 days and rural consumers after 45 days from the previous delivery, HPCL had fixed a 45-day interval even for urban consumers, causing inconvenience.

Expressing displeasure, Mr. Shariff pointed out that Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and BPCL were supplying cylinders after a 25-day interval and directed HPCL representatives to immediately reduce the waiting period for urban consumers to 25 days.

He instructed LPG agencies