Kolkata: Rising tensions in West Asia have triggered panic buying ofcooking gas cylinders in Kolkata, leading to a sudden surge in bookings and creating
an opportunity for black-market traders. According to a report, the rush to secure supplies has disrupted the normal distribution of LPG cylinders. In several areas of the city, cylinders are now being sold in the black market at much higher prices, including those meant for poor households under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). According to Times of India report, data from oil companies shows a sharp rise in bookings in just a few days. Bookings for cylinders of Indian Oil Corporation increased from about 2.5 lakh within 48 hours on March 5 to around 5.8 lakh by March 9. When figures from all oil marketing companies are combined, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, bookings rose from 3.9 lakh to more than 7.5 lakh during the same period. On normal days, the state needs about 5 lakh LPG cylinders every day. IOC supplies more than 3 lakh of these, while BPCL and HPCL together supply the rest. Most people who turned to black market for supply of cooking gas are students and tenants who dosen't have gas supply connection. However, panic bookings by consumers have temporarily disturbed the distribution network, allowing illegal traders to flourish.
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Areas such as Azadgarh, Bijoygarh and Bikramgarh have large numbers of students and people from districts who live in rented accommodation.
Many of them do not have permanent LPG connections and depend on small cylinders sold through informal suppliers. Because of the current shortage, even households with official LPG connections are now turning to the black market.
Not just household, restaurants and eatries are the most affected in these times, restaurants in Kolkata have started facing a shortage of commercial LPG, with industry associations warning of disruption in operations if the fuel supply is not normalised soon.
Industry representatives said the situation in Kolkata mirrors similar complaints from restaurants in cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, where eateries have warned that they might have to halt operations due to dried-up LPG supplies.
According to the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), the sector is heavily dependent on commercial LPG, and any prolonged fuel supply disruption could force widespread closures.
Piyush Kankaria, head of the NRAI's Kolkata chapter, told that the city has nearly 5,000 restaurants and a quick survey among members indicated that many establishments are already running out of cooking fuel.
"About 40 per cent of restaurants have indicated there will be immediate disruption, while another 30-40 per cent said they can run operations only for a few more days as they have limited stock," Kankaria said.
(With Inputs from PTI)
