Mangaluru: Panic gripped autorickshaw drivers in the city on Monday following an LPG shortage at fuel stations, reportedly linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis. Long queues of autorickshaws were seen outside LPG outlets, with many drivers expressing concern over the disruption. Several drivers said they were unable to refuel despite visiting multiple stations and warned that their livelihoods would be affected if the shortage continues.Federation of Karnataka Autorickshaw Drivers Union (CITU) Dakshina Kannada district president Sunil Kumar Bajal said that the union has been receiving complaints from autorickshaw drivers for the past three days about the LPG crisis. “While the city has more than 7,000 autorickshaws, nearly 50% of them run on LPG. Many drivers have expressed their concern over the shortage of LPG. The union has already discussed the issue of LPG shortage and the hike in price. We have been planning to hold a protest if the district administration and govt does not solve the crisis at the earliest,” he said.Deputy director of food and civil supplies, D Nagaraj said that the situation was created mainly due to the LPG transportation. “There is no LPG shortage situation in the district. We have been receiving LPG. When there is a delay in the supply for one or two days, some stations face a shortage crisis. However, LPG station owners created a group, and they have been sharing messages pertaining to the availability of fuel on their social media groups. Accordingly, LPG station owners guide drivers to visit the nearest station, where the fuel is available,” the officer said. The officer said he visited a couple of LPG stations in the city to take stock of the situation. “The LPG station staff said the tanker has not arrived, but they are sure that it will arrive soon. To avoid confusion regarding variations in the price of LPG, we have directed all LPG stations to display the price on their premises,” he said, adding that there are nearly 15 LPG fuel stations in the city.
