Jamshedpur: Many domestic customers have complained of ‘ghost’ deliveries from an LPG agency in the city while they haven’t actually received the cylinders, alleging digital manipulation of delivery statuses.After the complaints reached the district supplies office on Monday, officials visited the agency in Sidhgora and enquired into the matter over two days.District supplies officer Zulfikar Ansari on Tuesday said that the agency’s operator claimed that after the delivery slip is generated, it is handed to the delivery person for transportation of the cylinder to the customer’s address. Simultaneously, the customer receives an SMS communicating about the delivery. However, due to heavy backlog and increased demand, delivery of cylinders is getting delayed.“The agency has assured to streamline the delivery shortly to address the grievances of customers,” Ansari said. He added that the delivery agency will be surveyed regularly.Bhola Singh, one of the customers, said that on March 22 he booked a cylinder and on the same day, he received the delivery message. But he had not received the cylinder till March 30. Customers also staged demonstration at Sidhgora police station against the agency operator.Not ruling out the possibility of black-marketing of LPG cylinders on the pretext of “workload on delivery boys”, Ansari said said that a random survey will be conducted now at booking offices and godowns of the gas agencies to verify the record of booking and deliveries.Ansari said, “Though panic bookings persist in the city, availability of LPG cylider refills is adequate. Strict action will be taken against any sort of black-marketing and hoarding.”
