LUCKNOW Domestic cooking gas supplies in Lucknow are staring at a disruption ahead of Diwali, as a strike by cylinder transporters at Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Amausi bottling plant entered its third consecutive day on Thursday, halting supplies to 80 Indane gas agencies across the district.
With cylinder lifting suspended in Sarojini Nagar since Tuesday, the supply chain has begun feeling the pinch, sparking fears of prolonged waiting periods for consumers during the peak festive season.
The deadlock stems from a dispute over the allocation of transportation work under a 2023 tender. Transporters have accused Indian Oil of failing to honour its commitment to assign them work covering 192 LPG distributorships across eight districts. They claim a “subsequent reduction in work allocation” has sharply affected their earnings, leaving them struggling to meet operational costs and repay loans taken to purchase trucks.
Transporters continued their protest at the Amausi LPG bottling plant in Sarojini Nagar on Thursday, demanding restoration of the work allocation they were allegedly assured at the time of the tender.
Efforts to resolve the dispute failed to make headway after a proposed meeting with Indian Oil officials did not take place. The company had initially scheduled a meeting with the transporters at its state office in Gomti Nagar at 11 am. The transporters, however, sought a meeting at the bottling plant, where they had been staging their protest.
{{/usCountry}}Efforts to resolve the dispute failed to make headway after a proposed meeting with Indian Oil officials did not take place. The company had initially scheduled a meeting with the transporters at its state office in Gomti Nagar at 11 am. The transporters, however, sought a meeting at the bottling plant, where they had been staging their protest.
{{/usCountry}}Officials subsequently assured them that a meeting would be held at the plant at 3 pm. However, no company representative arrived at the scheduled time.
Transporters Raju Yadav, Yangansh Singh, Atul Yadav and Praveen Yadav said that during the 2023 tender process, Indian Oil had assured them transportation work for 192 gas agencies in Lucknow, Barabanki, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Gonda, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Sitapur.
The transporters said the reduced allocation had made the business financially unviable, as they continued to bear loan instalments, vehicle maintenance and other operating expenses despite a steep decline in transportation work.
With no fresh supplies reaching 80 Indane agencies for three days, the disruption could affect cylinder availability and delivery schedules, if the deadlock persists.
Meanwhile, a highly placed official of IOC said the talks with transporters are going on but the strike has not affected any supplies as alternative arrangements have been made.