As Chennaiites struggled to book LPG refills online or over the phone, there was widespread anxiety over the availability of domestic cylinders on Wednesday. Gas suppliers, however, insisted that the disruption was due to overloaded booking systems rather than a shortage, and assured consumers that services would stabilise in the coming days.Bharat Gas officials acknowledged a server glitch caused by an unusual surge in bookings. Indane, meanwhile, denied any system failure. “Our booking system is functioning normally,” said Rajasekar Rajaram, PRO at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., which owns the brand Indane.
But many Indane customers reported experiences that suggested otherwise. “When I tried booking on Tuesday, the IVRS said there was a technical glitch. The call was then disconnected. The second time, the number was switched off. This has never happened before,” said S Vinoth, of Kundrathur, who had not booked an Indane cylinder in six months.A Sam from Perungalathur, who placed a refill request a week ago, has yet to get his cylinder delivered. “I got a message saying it would arrive in three days, followed by another SMS showing a revised price but no confirmation. When I tried checking the booking status on the IVRS, it was unreachable,” he said. Others faced similar hardships. K Shivani of Anna Nagar said she had been unable to book a refill with Bharat Gas for two days. “We keep facing repeat failures on apps and customer care numbers. Even local distributors aren’t responding,” she said.Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd sales manager Chitransh Vipul said panic booking had compounded the problem. “The system faced an unusual spike in requests. The situation improved by Wednesday and should return to normal in the next two days,” he said.
