Bhubaneswar: Amid shortage of commercial LPG cylinders because of the ongoing West Asia tension, civil supplies officials on Wednesday seized 157 domestic cylinders from three locations, one in Bhubaneswar and two in Khurda.Officials said a timber depot in Bhubaneswar was used as a shield to hoard and black-market domestic cylinders at Samantarapur. Civil supplies sleuths, based on intelligence inputs, launched raids and found 13 filled cylinders and 100 empty ones, out of which 99 were domestic ones. From two other locations in Khurda, 44 domestic cylinders were found.“It was a timber depot, and no one from outside can make out that there could be gas cylinders hidden inside. We had solid inputs and during the raid, cylinders were found stacked up like the licensed gas depot. We checked each individual cylinder, and they were of different companies assembled to sell them at exorbitant prices,” said civil supplies officer (Khurda) Gyana Ranjan Mishra.Civil supplies sleuths said one person, who was using the depot to stock and sell the cylinders, has been detained for questioning.Officials said the cylinders were being sold to eateries and small hotels, who were dependent on commercial gas. “A domestic cylinder now costs Rs 950, but the man was selling one for Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000, more than thrice the amount. The small roadside eateries are desperately looking for sources where they can get a cylinder to run their business,” Mishra added.The food supplies and consumer welfare department has asked officials to launch a crackdown on black marketing of domestic cylinders after instances of genuine consumers not getting them came to notice. Recently, in view of the shortage, the department also allowed students and migrant workers to buy 5 kg cylinders by producing valid ID proof.Civil supplies sleuths in twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack said raids will be intensified in the coming days.
