Nagpur: The national body representing LPG distributors said they will seek police protection for their godowns and delivery vehicles, claiming their employees have been victims of ‘mob fury’ in several parts of the country. The LPG Distributors Association of India (LDAI) is also mulling halting home delivery of gas cylinders, saying securing stock in vehicles is not possible in residential areas, where their staff are completely outnumbered.BS Sharma, the association’s national president, who is based in Madhya Pradesh, said, “My members from some northern states said their staff were attacked and police had to be called in. People have become impatient and are panicking but fail to understand that we (distributors) have no role to play in this. We are hardly getting 50% stock on average daily while the waiting list continues to build up. Oil companies and their online booking system keep on crashing, due to which consumers rush to our offices and demand cylinders.“He said safety of their staff and stock is now compromised. “We can’t continue home delivery of cylinders if crowd management becomes such a problem. We are discussing what to do since our priority remains to serve customers, but it cannot be at the cost of safety. I heard reports that in a particular town, people just walked away with cylinders from the delivery vehicle by a mob. I will be asking all my state presidents to approach authorities and demand police protection, because the situation will get worse in the coming days as people are now indulging in panic-booking,” he added.This is not yielding the desired results, leading to agitated crowds at distributors’ offices. “All through the day I fielded calls from members who were worried about queues getting longer and people’s patience running low. Expletives have become common as customers vent their ire on our office staff, even after we tell them that the online booking system has crashed,” said Sharma.Not mincing words, he said the LPG supply situation is bleak and, even though some refineries are now prioritising this crucial gas, it won’t be enough. “We are producing around 15-20% of our requirement through the domestic market. The prioritisation at refineries will probably raise it to another 10%, which means the deficit continues. The govt seems to be caught off-guard even though the West Asia tensions were building up for quite some time,” claimed Sharma.The association’s Maharashtra chapter president, Jayprakash Tiwari, said, “I received instructions from my association; hence, we will be writing a letter to the Maharashtra DGP so that we get police protection.” The LDAI says the next 10 days will be crucial, and if supply from overseas does not resume, stocks will face real pressure.
