Kolkata: Cashing in on the current LPG crisis, a cylinder sale racket has emerged, with commercial cylinders being sold at exorbitant prices. Owners of roadside eateries, especially those in the central business district, are paying Rs 3,000 or more for one cylinder that actually costs Rs 2,000. However, there is a queue here as well, with several takeaway food joints on the waiting list. The owner of a takeaway food joint on S N Banerjee Road said the LPG shortage is burning a hole in his pocket as he is having to pay Rs 1,000-Rs 1,200 more to get a commercial cylinder. “A commercial cylinder now costs Rs 2,000. Last week, the delivery man from the dealer’s office in the Lord Para area asked for Rs 3,000 to give me a cylinder. After haggling, I got the price slashed by Rs 200. On Thursday, I called him again for another cylinder but he made it clear that he would not take even a rupee less than Rs 3,000, which he called the standard price of blue cylinder on black. I fear that if the price is raised further, I won’t be able to sustain my business. I cannot raise the prices of my dishes to keep pace with the rising LPG price,” he said.Another eatery owner near Moulali said, “Paying Rs 3,000 to buy a single 19-kg commercial cylinder is beyond our capacity. I have been told that kata gas — cylinders that are sold after transfer of LPG from commercial cylinders — is unavailable due to cop lens. Big eateries can slash items or switch to other cooking modes but we can’t. I can’t shut my shop since it is the only source of my livelihood.”According to LPG dealers, commercial cylinders are currently being sold in the grey market at 50%-60% higher than in the normal market because of the high demand and low availability. “The main reason is that over 70% of the roadside eateries were using domestic cylinders. Now that supply of domestic cylinders is under scanner, the eateries are not getting the ease of doing business like earlier. They now have to buy commercial cylinders at exorbitant rates, even though it is illegal. I don’t know how much time it will take for the situation to get normal, but the problem will persist till then,” said a dealer.Sources said that some delivery personnel of dealers are part of the illegal cylinder racket and are selling sealed commercial cylinders surreptitiously to eateries. Some of these cylinders are also filled with LPG transferred from domestic cylinders. In some places, the unofficial market price of a 19-kg commercial cylinder has touched the Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 mark as well, causing some eateries to mull alternative cooking fuel like coal or wood. Those running small food shops in office paras like Dacres Lane are the worst hit by the unauthorised sale of commercial cylinders at steep prices. A chowmein and roll seller said, “I kept my stall shut for two days but had to open it so I could earn something. The rusty domestic cylinders are not coming to us now and the same delivery people are selling us commercial cylinders at steep prices. My stall is small, and I don’t know whether I can use coal or wood. If I increase the price of food, customers will not buy.”The owner of a takeaway roll shop on Park Street said, “There is a long queue to get an LPG cylinder even on the black market. The delivery personnel are taking advantage of the crisis.”
