Even as there was a sense among officials that the LPG situation in Lucknow was easing, a number of people continued to be misguided by unfounded rumours and rushed to gas agencies in Lucknow on Friday. Nevertheless, the crowds were moderate at the counters and the queues were not unusually long.
Some of these consumers at gas agencies visited by HT across city neighbourhoods said though they had a cylinder at home, they were concerned about reports of a shortage.
A ground check found that while LPG cylinder delivery delays and supply pressure existed, normalcy appeared to be gradually returning at many gas agencies.
Officials and suppliers said domestic LPG cylinders are largely available, though commercial cylinders continue to face shortages.
At a gas agency near Polytechnic Chauraha, Shaily Rai said he booked a cylinder on Monday but had not received delivery until Friday. When he approached the agency staff, they informed him that his booking was automatically cancelled by the system because it was made before the permissible gap from the previous booking.
Agency officials said the minimum duration between two bookings recently increased from 21 to 25 days, which also caused consumer confusion.
Rashid Ahmad, a resident of Indira Nagar originally from Barabanki, said he came to the agency on behalf of his employer.
“My manager booked the cylinder after a 26-day gap, but it has been six days and the cylinder has still not been delivered,” he said.
Agency staff told him that the sudden rise in bookings across the city slowed down deliveries as distributors tried to clear the backlog.
At Narhi, Ram Karan Yadav, who runs a dairy products shop, said he had been forced to stop making rabri after his supplier refused to provide a cylinder citing unavailability.
“If I don’t get gas soon, I will have to stop selling some items completely,” he said. Another shopkeeper nearby echoed similar concerns, saying he might have to temporarily shut his shop once the currently running cylinder runs out.
Some small vendors alleged that larger establishments were still receiving supplies. Sudhanshu Prajapati, who runs a gas repair shop near Hussainganj, claimed that while small businesses are struggling, bigger hotels appear to be receiving commercial cylinders without difficulty.
The HT team also visited roadside refill points and small shops known for illegally refilling LPG cylinders. At Nishatganj, a shopkeeper who requested anonymity said he usually refills 5kg cylinders for customers, but his business has nearly come to a halt due to supply shortages.
Most of his customers, he said, depended on quick refilling services rather than waiting for formal deliveries.
In Sector 19 of Indira Nagar, another roadside vendor admitted that he was unable to refill cylinders as he currently had no gas. Posing as a customer seeking a refill, the HT correspondent was told that the vendor typically sourced gas through suppliers and used domestic cylinders for illegal refilling. However, he too didn’t have any receipt of this connection
Rajendra Singh, who has been supplying cylinders in and around Narhi for nearly 18 years, said there was no major shortage of domestic cylinders.
“I have proper booking receipts and deliveries are happening within four to five days, there is no real crisis in domestic cylinders, though commercial cylinders are definitely facing supply pressure,” he said.
Sanjay Bhandari, executive director and state head at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), said that nearly 95% of LPG consumption in the city is for domestic use. He added that commercial cylinders are being supplied regularly to hospitals and hostels on priority. Bhandari said there were server-related issues over the past two days, which affected some bookings and deliveries.
“However, the situation is now moving towards normalcy from today,” he said.
