By NNN-PTI
New Delhi : The long wait for getting domestic cooking gas (LPG) refills may take at least another week to subside, as public sector oil firms are in the process of stepping up supplies.
“There is a backlog of at least two days (at the distributor end) and it can take almost 7-10 days to wipe out the wait list caused by this backlog at the consumer end,” said Sarthak Behuria, Chairman of Indian Oil Corp, the company that has almost half of the domestic LPG market share.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said public sector oil firms were operating their bottling plants even on holidays and doing extended shifts to increase supplies.
“The extended winter, that was not anticipated, had led to an increase in demand for LPG. This had led to waiting period in some places in the north. We are endeavouring to increase supplies and the crisis would be over soon,” he said.
Behuria said there was no shortage of LPG in the country. “In fact, we have nine days’ stock as against the normal 6 days during this time of the year. We are also importing 5-7 cargoes every month to meet the increased demand.”
The wait list, he said, had also been caused due to panic booking by consumers. “We would like to assure consumers that there is no shortage of LPG and so there is no need to panic.”