• Jayant Gas, one of the largest LPG agencies in the state capital, is reporting a backlog of 4,000-4,500 deliveries

• Indraprastha Agency on Station Road has pegged its pending deliveries at roughly over 2,000

• Kutchery Road-based Oraon Gas has been facing consumer wrath over stock crisis for the past two weeks

• Devi Gas on Kanke Road is also trailing in home delivery of cylinders

The story is similar at the 30-odd cooking gas agencies in Ranchi, courtesy bottlenecks - ranging from floods and bad roads to alleged incompetence - at the bottling plant based in Kandra, Seraikela-Kharsawan, 12km from Jamshedpur.

Every day, each capital agency requires 100-120 trucks - one vehicle carrying 306 cylinders - to bridge the demand-supply gap. But, the bottling plant in Kandra is reportedly sending less than 100 trucks only once a week, causing delayed home delivery.

While bottling plant officials are blaming crippled LPG transportation from Vizag (Andhra) and Kalyani-Halida (Bengal) because of countrywide floods, agency proprietors are clamouring for streamlining of the supply chain.

"For more than a week, we are not receiving adequate cylinder stock. The LPG comes from outside Jharkhand to Kandra near Jamshedpur, from where cylinders are sent to various agencies in Ranchi. We are being told that floods have wrecked road communication at many places. But, we bear the brunt round the year," said an official at Jayant Gas.

Proprietor of the agency Jayant confirmed erratic supply of cylinders from the bottling plant. "Stocks are coming once in five-six days, which is escalating our backlog. Home delivery is becoming difficult," he said.

An official at Indraprastha alleged that Indian Oil - the parent company - was ignoring the crisis and putting the onus of delayed or failed home delivery on agencies. "The recent crisis is mostly due to floods, but erratic supply has been the norm for months. And, it is we who face consumer wrath. The government keeps granting permission to new gas agencies, but is doing precious little to streamline the LPG supply chain," he said.

Agreed Virendra Kumar Singh, the owner of Devi Gas. "People handling the Kandra-based bottling plant are incompetent. Floods and bad roads are temporary, but the plant almost always fails us. For instance, on any given day, our requisition is 122 trucks, but we get 76. How can we manage timely home delivery? When you confront officials at the bottling plant, they have a litany of excuses such as no vehicles or no production. You can quote me on this," he said.

Singh added that the only other LPG bottling plant in Jharkhand was in Bokaro and it catered to agencies in Dhanbad, Deoghar and other adjoining areas. "Agencies in those districts hardly face problems. But, those of us associated with the Kandra plant (also catering to Khunti and Seraikela) grapple with cylinder crunch."

Shrawan Kabra of Kabra Gas Agency in Jugsaslai, Jamshedpur, also admitted supply glitches from Haldia to the bottling plant in Kandra.

"As of now we are three days behind schedule. We were in a position to deliver an LPG cylinder within 72-hours from the date of booking. But now, we are taking six days. We are hopeful that the crisis will be over in the next couple of weeks," he said.

Nihar Ranjan, the manager of the bottling plant in question, said he was not authorised to speak to the media. Off the record, another official blamed recent floods. "More than 80 per cent of LPG comes via road. We are trying to streamline the service," he said.