There’s a freeze ahead on LPG cylinder distribution, post-bandhs and price hike. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

The sons-in-law and the mothers-in-law have not had it so bad in years.

Jamai Sashthi is round the corner but back-to-back bandhs have left markets across the city without stocks and hoarding of LPG cylinders by a section of distributors has left homemakers without options.

And to make matters worse, inflation has risen to 8.24 per cent, the highest since August 2004.

“The common man has been facing one blow after another. The inflation figure will be even higher next week because of the oil price hike,” said Subhasish Roy, a private bank employee.

In middle-class homes, a freeze in the distribution of LPG cylinders after the hike is a cause for greater concern.

“Our dealer has made it clear that he can’t supply LPG cylinders for the next few days. It is a crisis and we are being forced to cut down on the use of cooking gas,” said homemaker Kakoli Majumder of Surya Sen Street.

The family had planned an elaborate Jamai Sashthi celebration, but is now exploring the option of hiring a chullah till the situation becomes normal.

Homemakers across the city faced problems in booking LPG cylinders. The dealers are either not responding to queries or are saying they are out of stock.

With complaints pouring in, state finance minister Asim Dasgupta asked chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb to crack down on errant LPG dealers.

“The bandhs will help the cause of the corrupt traders. They will claim that the supplies have not arrived,” said marketing executive Sourabh Ghosh.

Inflation is an alien term for 76-year-old Purnima Mukherjee of Howrah, but she knows that prices shoot up when the markets open after two days of bandh. “I will shop for Jamai Sashthi on Sunday and know that I will have to pay a premium for most items,” she said.

Traders, too, said the impact of the bandh would be felt on prices of a range of products — from fruits to fish.

“With supplies not reaching the wholesale markets, prices of green vegetables would go up by about Rs 5-6 for each pallah,” said Tarak Trivedi, the secretary of the Federation of Traders Organisation of West Bengal.

On Friday evening, as the city limped out of the serial bandhs, traders pulled out their calculators to work out the losses.

“Most traders would want to make up for wastage of their perishable stocks by adding a mark-up,” admitted Pradip Chakrabarty, a trader in New Market.