Gurgaon: The city is seeing a sudden rush for LPG connections as the collapse of the informal cylinder market has pushed thousands of households towards authorised supply.Many residents who had managed for years without formal connections are now scrambling for regular access to cooking gas after the West Asia conflict disrupted unofficial channels and tightened supplies.Officials said around 5,800 requests for new LPG connections are pending across Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum agencies in the district. Distributors said around 500 applications are being received every day, but clarified that the figure may include the same person applying to multiple companies at once.The surge has also intensified because oil companies have kept new connections on hold since March 15, creating a growing backlog.Roshan Kumar, a Sector 50 resident, said he never felt the need for a formal connection earlier because cylinders were easily available in the black market. Living in rented accommodation and shifting frequently also made address updates cumbersome, he pointed out. But after supplies tightened, he applied for a connection. More than 10 days later, he is still waiting for a response.Bharat Singh Yadav, president of All India LPG Distributors Federation in Haryana, said agencies have been receiving far more requests than they can actually process. “People often call in frustration when connections are not issued after they apply. But distributors have little room to help because the process itself is on hold,” he added.The rush, Yadav said, is no longer limited to migrant workers. “Many working professionals who had avoided formal connections are now applying to secure uninterrupted supply,” he added.Tarun, who is also the district nodal officer for LPG at Indian Oil, said agency staff are facing frequent complaints and arguments before applicants are told that fresh connections are currently suspended. As a temporary option, applicants are being offered 5kg cylinders. Some accept them for immediate use, while others prefer to wait for a standard 14kg cylinder through a proper connection.Tarun also clarified that the pending numbers do not fully reflect the actual demand because many applicants are approaching IOCL, HP and BP at the same time. Before the current disruption, the city used to see around 3,000 new LPG connections a month.The district administration has stepped in to promote 5kg cylinders as a stop-gap measure. After a review meeting on LPG and PNG supply chaired by deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar following a video conference led by chief secretary Anurag Rastogi, officials said these smaller cylinders can be obtained quickly without a connection. “All you need is an ID proof,” an official said.DC Kumar insisted that LPG supply is smooth, saying 13,000-14,000 domestic cylinders are being delivered in the city every day. Officials added that the city currently has a surplus of 12,574 cylinders.
