Consumers on Sunday block the Kutchery Chowk in protest against irregular supply of LPG cylinder in the city. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Sept. 7: Vehicles stood bumper to bumper at Kutchery Chowk as local residents blocked the thoroughfare for more than two hours on Sunday protesting against the irregular supply of LPG cylinders in the capital.

The protesters — a few hundred of them— trooped to the Chowk area around 9.30am. They squatted on the road with empty cylinders and demanded immediate redress. “I had booked an LPG cylinder on August 16, but I am yet to get one. How do you think I am keeping the flame alive in my kitchen? I have to cook on a stove or get ready-to-eat food from a hotel. These will cost me a lot extra,” hollered a woman.

Bani Biswas, another protester, was more vocal. She said: “The last time I got an LPG cylinder was after an interval of 40 days. I had a harrowing experience.” Biswas, a resident of Deputy Para, said she had ordered a cylinder from the Oraon Gas Agency. The story was similar in other parts of the city, including Harmu Housing Colony, Argora, Ashok Nagar, Doranda and the HEC Township.

Dealers admitted that supply of LPG cylinders had become a major problem in the city.

Distributors confirmed that they had a backlog of 2,000-3,000. “We are not being able to supply as per demand. Domestic consumers require 6,000 cylinders every day, but we barely manage to procure 4,500 from oil companies. The companies claim they do not have adequate number of trucks. For example, the Indian Oil Company (IOC), which has the maximum number of consumers in the state, has 40 trucks against 84 distributors,” a distributor said, requesting anonymity.

District supply officer Birendra Singh said both the distributors and oil companies were responsible for the problem. He said he would take steps for immediate supply of LPG by tomorrow. “I am tired of distributors who create a crisis to disturb us. Oil companies, too, should be blamed because they pay more interest towards commercial consumers than domestic ones,” Singh said.

Senior area manager of IOC M.R. Das, however, denied the allegation. “We are supplying LPG cylinders in adequate quantity. “The problem arises when customers become more demanding or there is a vehicle breakdown. Frequent bandhs also affect the supply,” he said.

But that was not enough to convince local residents. They, however, lifted the blockade around 11.30am after officers of Kotwali police station intervened and promised to sort out the issue with local LPG distributors.