Nagpur: Amid the LPG crisis continuing to affect the city, a troubling trend has emerged: Several consumers are still not receiving cylinders even 15 days after booking, raising concerns about supply gaps and possible irregularities.Residents across the city have reported inconsistencies in delivery status, with online systems showing bookings as “in process” or “out for delivery” for unusually long periods. In some cases, cylinders are marked as “delivered” even though consumers never received them, fuelling fears of black marketing and hoarding within the supply chain.The situation has forced many residents to queue up outside LPG agencies and distribution godowns once again, adding to their daily inconvenience.“I tried to book a cylinder online, but couldn’t. So I visited the agency in Ayodhya Nagar and booked my cylinder on March 17, sharing all required details, including the OTP. Days later, since I hadn’t received it, I checked online and it showed the cylinder was delivered the same day. Panicked, I went back to the agency, got a slip, and was told to collect the cylinder from the godown. I waited in line for four hours and finally got the delivery on Thursday,” said Gaurav Mishra, a resident of PiplaAnother citizen, Avinash Yelne, said he booked a cylinder at the end of February, but did not receive it. In March, he received a message that the cylinder had been delivered on March 21, while he was out of town. “I also received the Rs40 subsidy, but not the cylinder,” Yelne added.Many other residents have reported prolonged delays in cylinder delivery, along with difficulties in completing online bookings.Speaking to TOI, gas agency owner Mahendra Gawai acknowledged the problem, attributing it partly to technical glitches. “There was a system glitch on March 13 and 17, which was later resolved, but only a few people were affected. Some delivery boys might have been involved in misadventures, though such cases are rare. The main issue is the system operated by the oil marketing companies,” he said.Gawai further claimed that even with sufficient stock, consumer supply remains disrupted due to system-related restrictions. “The company shuts off our package, which causes multiple delivery issues. They also keep introducing new processes daily, which panics citizens. On April 1, hundreds of people queued outside the agency after receiving messages about E-KYC. On Friday, the company stopped allowing mobile number changes, which again caused long queues,” he said, urging oil marketing companies to streamline operations and ensure smoother supply to avoid further chaos.
