Nagpur: Chaotic scenes triggered by a rising clamour over LPG ‘crisis’ continued for the second consecutive day outside several gas agency offices across the city on Friday. Long queues were reported from multiple localities with desperate customers lining up as early as 4am to get LPG refill cylinders. The situation worsened as LPG booking system remained down, forcing consumers to physically visit gas agency offices with no clarity on when the system would be restored. Confusion and frustration mounted as many consumers returned empty-handed after waiting for hours.Gas agency distributors blamed the oil marketing companies (OMCs) for the continued system failure, saying the breakdown in online booking triggered panic among consumers. Gas agency distributor Pratik Jaiswal said people are panicking because they are unable to book cylinders online. “No official from OMCs is responding regarding the system failure. Earlier, we used to be able to put up bookings for customers from our offices, which also stopped. Now it is a safety issue for us, but no one seems bothered,” said Jaiswal.The tense situation also forced some distributors to take drastic steps. In Tajbagh area, a distributor shifted his godown to Hudkeshwar, nearly 5km away, citing safety concerns. The sudden move further infuriated consumers who waited in long queues outside the original godown. Ismail Sheikh, who stood in the queue at the Tajbagh godown since 5am said he was informed about the shifting of the godown after waiting for three hours.“I was unable to book a cylinder for two days. I only have a single cylinder, which is empty. Now, during our festive season, how are we going to cook food for our family? Many people are also frustrated as the godown was shifted,” said Sheikh.Gas distributor Mahendra Gawai said the decision to shift the godown was taken due to security concerns, though he acknowledged it inconvenienced customers. “I also contacted the police for protection but did not receive any response, so I decided to shift the godown, as brawls also happened earlier. A distributor is supposed to deliver the cylinder at home and should not be concerned about where his godown is. The main issue is that people are not able to book cylinders, which is making them anxious and can further escalate the situation. The oil companies must address the issue otherwise the chaos will continue,” said Gawai, who also admitted that people queued up since 4am.With the booking system still down and panic among consumers rising, the crisis at gas agencies shows little sign of easing any time soon.No LPG shortage at crematoriums: NMCNagpur Municipal Corporation’s chief sanitation officer Gajendra Mahalle said that currently there is no crisis of LPG at all three LPG-fuelled crematoriums — Ambazari Ghat, Sahakar Nagar and Mokshadham.
