A ray of hope emerged on Friday as domestic LPG helplines resumed in phases and commercial cooking gas deliveries restarted, though only partially.
Oil and gas companies had asked distributors to accept manual refill bookings to manage the ongoing supply crisis. The move offered partial relief as staff at distribution counters began noting down details of customers who lined up to book cylinders.
Till Thursday, most people standing in queues had returned empty-handed, as servers remained down and personnel could provide little help.
“The server is still not fully functional, but it is working in phases,” said a distributor of Indane — the flagship LPG brand of Indian Oil — in south Calcutta.
Households
Queues at distribution centres became shorter on Friday as some consumers managed to book refills or check their application status over the phone.
Many customers, however, still struggled. Some had their requests accepted but did not receive confirmation messages, prompting them to visit distribution centres. “The staff noted their consumer numbers and asked them to return home. When the server became functional, the details were matched with the central database and an invoice was generated if the application was genuine,” a distributor said.
Poritos Das, 45, a resident of Jodhpur Park, booked his cylinder on March 6. Normally, delivery takes three to four days, but he had still not received it by March 13. “I was told my refill booking had been processed and I would receive it in 10 days,” Das said after visiting his distributor.
At least two distribution centres that Metro visited on Friday were still not accepting manual bookings. “We are telling customers that all bookings must be done on the phone,” said an employee of an Indane distributor on Amherst Street.
Bijan Behari Biswas, spokesperson for the Indane LPG Distributors’ Association, said: “The situation has improved only marginally. We are accepting manual bookings, mainly for elderly customers. However, matching customer details with the database requires the system to function.”
Police watch
The enforcement branch of Kolkata Police sent teams to distribution centres to check for black marketing and hoarding. Sources said officers were examining records and speaking with people in queues to ensure distribution was in order.
The visits follow multiple meetings chaired by chief minister Mamata Banerjee aimed at keeping supply normal and preventing panic.
Commercial breather
“Commercial LPG supply will commence in full force from today,” Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
On the ground, however, distributors reported that only a fraction of commercial supply had resumed.
A Patuli distributor received a mini truck with 192 commercial cylinders (19kg) on Thursday night — the first consignment in four days. They were delivered on Friday. His clients include hospitals, hotels off EM Bypass and social clubs.
Kabir Azhar, director of Aminia Restaurants, said he received around 10 cylinders on Friday. “Before the crisis, I needed around 50 cylinders every day. But something is better than nothing,” he said.
Most restaurants in and around Calcutta have switched partly or fully to electric cooking, while some have turned to firewood, to cope with curbs on commercial LPG outside hospitals and schools.
Another distributor, who requested anonymity, said he had been instructed to meet only “20%” of commercial demand. “I can supply two commercial cylinders to a customer who earlier took 10 cylinders every day,” he said.
Hospital measures
Many hospitals have also modified kitchen operations. At Belle Vue Clinic, the kitchen reduced the number of chapatis prepared each day and introduced alternative items. “We sensed trouble and held a meeting to pre-empt the crisis. We have been able to save two-and-a-half cylinders daily,” said CEO Pradeep Tondon.
Desun Hospital has switched to an all-vegetarian menu. “To ensure uninterrupted food service despite limited gas, we have temporarily restricted our menu to vegetarian and egg-based meals, as non-vegetarian cooking requires more fuel and time,” said chairman and managing director Sajal Dutta.
“We are also exploring alternatives such as industrial induction cooking systems, but these are currently out of stock or selling at a premium,” he added.
Additional reporting by Monalisa Chaudhuri and Samarpita Banerjee