Patna: Despite assurances from the district administration, people in Patna are facing hardship in booking LPG cylinders, while alleged ‘ghost bookings’ are adding to their burden as they run from pillar to post seeking resolution. Many residents in Patna are receiving SMS notifications claiming their LPG cylinder has been delivered, but the gas never reaches their homes, sparking widespread anger and allegations of irregularities.Consumers say that after booking a refill, they receive an automated message confirming delivery on a specific date. However, no delivery person arrives, and their cylinder status shows as “delivered”. Some also claimed that even without booking a refill, their cylinder status shows as delivered recently, often blocking further bookings for months.
Several affected residents have taken to social media to highlight the issue. Sunny Sahsi, a resident of Ishopur, complained that the cylinder was booked and invoiced but never delivered. “The gas agency office is not responding to calls. Also, a cylinder was marked from my account earlier without any booking from my side by the agency. This is a serious issue along with the delivery delay. It should be investigated properly,” he said.Raj Kumar Gupta, who lives in Shimla, said, “My mother, Parmila Devi, is 60-plus and lives with my father, who is bed-ridden, alone in Mithapur, Patna. She can’t bring the cylinder herself. I work in Shimla and handle everything from here. The gas cylinder that I booked for them has not been delivered, but I received a message saying your cylinder has been delivered and next booking after April 10,” he said.“The message came around March 20, but no delivery has been made. I tweeted to the oil company and called the gas agency, but no one is picking up. I’m also sending emails, but no one is listening. The vendor switches off the phone when called. Just think — if someone doesn’t have a double cylinder and there’s no one at home, then it’s a big problem. The agency books cylinders themselves without my booking. My house uses only eight cylinders a year, so they book the remaining ones and record fake deliveries. I don’t want the subsidy, yet they overcharge. Vendors in Patna misuse domestic cylinders for commercial work. This is causing real panic for senior citizens living alone,” Gupta told this newspaper over the phone.Another senior citizen, Renu Singh, who lives in Keshari Nagar, is also facing a similar problem. She claimed that she was unable to book the cylinder. “I tried to book but a message pop-up showed that my last refill was delivered on March 19 and the next refill is after April 23. I never booked any cylinder and did not even receive one on the given date mentioned in the message,” she said.Singh added, “Being a senior citizen I am unable to go to the gas agency and fight with them. I am really helpless.”Abhishek Kumar of Nawada village in Phulwarisharif said he booked a gas refill on March 5 and received a message on March 23 stating that his cylinder had been delivered, but he did not receive one. “I am following up after I booked the cylinder and now it is showing the order has been completed and next booking after April 18,” he said.Shashi Kumar Jha, a resident of Agamkuan, said, “I received the gas cylinder on March 11 and now the app is showing that my next refill can be done after April 16. As per the guideline, the next booking can be done after 25 days, so why is it taking 35 days?”
