LPG cylinders misuse continues

By: Jagmeet Y. Ghuman

KUMARHATTI: The LPG cylinders meant for domestic supply here were continued to be used for commercial purposes thanks to commercial users- gas agencies nexus. The authority concerned has failed to check the menace, hence it were domestic users who have to face LPG supply crisis quite often.

The domestic users complained that the usually they have to wait over month to get supply whereas as per norms one should get the cylinder within a week time after getting booking receipt from agencies. Ironically the domestic users were facing problem but the things were quite different in commercial users who got uninterrupted supply of cylinders.

The domestic subscribers were generally told of short supply, however who paid over normal rate got easy supply, rued affected domestic users. The concerned department should investigate the matter properly, they demanded.

The gas agencies were supposed to deliver cylinders at home but it has adopted the practice to deliberately creating panic like situation so that domestic subscribers would rush to agency offices and pay extra amount for carriage cost from their own pockets, subscribers lamented.

Ironically the mushrooming of road side dhabhas, eating joints and hotels along Kalka-Shimla national highway particularly in and around this town and Dharampur has increased the LPG cylinders demand manifold. The residential schools galore have further added to cylinder supply.

On the other hand the District Food and Civil Supplies Department seemed helpless to curb the practice. According to department officials the inordinate delay in dealing the detected cases was major hurdle in checking the cylinder misuse problem. The cases remained pending for long for further action despite department made time to time raids to check misuse of cylinders, officials maintained.