Mumbai: Home delivery of domestic LPG cylinders across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has slowed sharply, with waiting time stretching to 8-10 days and long queues forming at dealer outlets in parts of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, dealers said on Thursday.The strain of domestic cylinders was being felt most by single-cylinder households and families needing urgent refills. Slum and chawl residents were among the worst affected, as many depended on one cylinder and had little space to store an extra one.Dealers said they have been giving cylinders directly at outlets to such consumers, but that has created a cascading backlog in doorstep deliveries.At the same time, piped natural gas (PNG) adoption has risen sharply across MMR. Mahanagar Gas Ltd officials said data for the latest surge in new connections across the region is still being compiled. The MMR, which already has more than 31 lakh households with piped gas connections, accounts for a significant share of the 3.5 lakh new PNG connections added across India in the past three weeks, sources in MGL said.As for commercial PNG, the 20% cut in supply continues, especially for hoteliers in the city, the sources added.In case of LPG, a Bhandup dealer said the outlet receives 1,000 to 1,200 LPG cylinders daily, but here are bookings for double this number. Around 500 consumers now turn up every day seeking immediate replacement of empty cylinders. “They have the booking but they cannot wait for over a week for deliveries. But since we give them the cylinder, we fall short when it comes to delivering cylinders at the doorsteps of others who have booked. The backlog increases and so does the delivery delay,” the dealer added. The govt said priority allocation was continuing, with 100% supply being maintained for domestic PNG, LPG and CNG transport. A govt official said refineries were operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories and sufficient fuel stocks.
