Construction of an LPG bottling plant in Banka district has given residents in and around the area a ray of hope of getting cooking gas cylinders on time.

The plant of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) would be a huge help for people in the eastern districts of Bihar and also a few areas in neighbouring Jharkhand.

At present, these areas are supplied LPG gas cylinders from IOCL's Barauni plant in Begusarai. There aren't any other options for LPG cooking gas consumers in the vicinity of Banka district.

On February 15, IOCL officials performed the bhumi-pujan for the bottling plant at Madhusudhanpur near Dhakamore in Banka, around 11km east of the town.

The land acquisition department of Banka district handed over 30 acres to the oil company for the project. The company's sales officer, Puskar Anand, said: 'The plant is being constructed at the estimated cost of Rs 100 crore. It would start functioning within the next 18-20 months.'

The plant would have the capacity to refill 48,000 LPG cylinders every day and help counter the crisis for cooking gas cylinders in Banka and neighbouring districts.

Anjali Das, a homemaker in Banka town, said: 'Most times of the year, we have to wait for one-and-a-half to two months for a new cylinder after booking one. This new plant would be of great help to us.'

An IOCL official said LPG cooking gas cylinders are delivered to the eastern districts of Bihar and some parts of Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand from the company's Barauni plant in Begusarai. 'As the Rajendra Setu (Mokama bridge) is closed, trucks carrying the LPG cylinders often get stuck on their way to delivery to the gas agencies. In such situations, it is difficult to maintain the schedule leading to a shortage of LPG cylinders. After the plant starts in Banka, customers in these areas would not have to face scarcity of cooking gas cylinders,' said the official.

Sales officer Anand said: 'At least 120 trucks would be loaded from the Banka plant daily for delivery to different districts of Bihar and Jharkhand such as Bhagalpur, Munger, Jamui, Katihar, Purnea, Dumka, Godda and Deoghar.' He added that the gas agencies have also been directed to provide LPG cooking gas connections to below poverty line families for Rs 800 as security deposit in accordance with the company's policy.