LPG cylinders delivered only on paper, say customers queued outside agencies

Long queues at LPG agencies in Delhi persist due to panic buying, causing delays and "phantom deliveries" despite government measures to stabilize supply.

Long queues continued at LPG agencies across Delhi on Friday, as consumers alleged that supply was fraught with long waits, delayed deliveries, and bookings marked as “delivered” despite not being received, even as agencies attributed the disruptions to an unprecedented rush of panic buyers overwhelming the system.

Outside a gas agency in Mayur Vihar Phase 2 on Friday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

On Friday afternoon, HT’s spot checks at gas agencies and godowns across Delhi – including Rajghat, the DDA market at Mata Sundri Road, Mayur Vihar, and Kotla Mubarakpur – found large crowds of people waiting, despite receiving messages that their requests would be processed within 24 hours.

Hira Devi, 65, who arrived by rickshaw at Banaras Gas Agency’s godown in Rajghat, said her struggle to get a cylinder was finally resolved after nearly 20 days of repeated online and offline attempts.

“Days after the LPG shortage panic began in early March, I had only a week’s supply left. I booked a refill on March 5, expecting delivery in two or three days, but by March 15 my cylinder was empty and nothing arrived,” said Devi, a resident of Ajmeri Gate who cares for her clinically depressed son. “My daughter eventually bought me an induction cooktop for ₹2,500, but adapting to it hasn’t been easy after a lifetime of cooking on gas.”

She said she received a physical token on March 24 and was asked to collect the cylinder from the godown. “Today, I managed to get a rickshaw and pick it up.”

Mohd Iqbal, 60, who has an amputated leg, said traveling to physically collect cylinders is extremely difficult. “We booked the cylinder online, but we were told to collect a physical token from the DDA market office and then get the cylinder from Rajghat,” he said, adding that his cylinder has been empty for three days. “We’ve had to rely on eating out and help from neighbours… How long could we continue this?”

‘Phantom deliveries’

At Mayur Vihar’s Nihal Gas Service, customers reported that messages showed their cylinders delivered even when nothing had arrived at their homes.

Gopal, a 65-year-old lawyer, said his order appeared delivered after he missed the OTP twice, but he never received the cylinder. Another customer showed a message stating: “Your cylinder was delivered on March 19.”

Agency owner Nargis Naqvi said she increased delivery staff from 10 to 14 to ensure smoother service.

“Initially, our delivery staff were afraid of potential snatching at neighbourhoods where customers were more panicked, but I reassured them and hired four additional workers. Demand has surged, with unregistered KVC connections and several PNG users requesting cylinders. The situation has worsened over the past two weeks, but we are doing our best to meet it.”

While the agency owner said the cylinders had been dispatched from the godown, she did not have an answer to why they never reached the customers.

At Kotla Mubarakpur-based agency, operations appeared relatively smoother, and customers could choose between self-pickup and home delivery. Agency operators told HT that around 500 cylinders were being delivered daily.

Following the central government’s directive, the Delhi government on Friday issued a modified allocation order, raising commercial LPG supply by an additional 20% over the existing 50% – restoring availability to 70% of previous levels, or 6,300 cylinders of 19kg daily from the normal consumption of 9,000.

Delhi food and supplies minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the order prioritizes industries, hotels, restaurants, dhabas, food processing units, dairies, essential services, and 5kg cylinders for migrant labour and students. “No panic or hoarding has been observed in Delhi. Monitoring confirms smooth bookings and distribution, which debunks rumours of shortages. There is absolutely no shortage; supplies are stable thanks to proactive measures,” Sirsa said.