LPG crisis in India: Long queues outside Noida, Lucknow, Delhi, Bhubaneswar agencies as West Asia conflict hits cities amid Iran-US-Israel tensions

The impact of the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region is now visible in multiple Indian cities such as Noida, Lucknow, Pune, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar and others amid a severe crunch in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and commercial LPG supplies. The disruptions in the West Asia region has started to affect fuel availability across the country. Amid concerns over LPG supply disruptions, long queues were seen outside several gas agencies in cities as people waited to collect cooking gas cylinders. Reports of limited cylinder availability led to large gatherings at distribution centres, with some areas also witnessing road blockades near gas agencies.

LPG crisis in India

Long queues of consumers were witnessed outside several LPG gas agencies in Bhubaneswar as residents struggled to obtain cooking gas despite placing bookings. People were seen standing in queues for two to three hours or even longer outside LPG distribution centres in the city, with many of them alleging that they haven't received LPG cylinders even after booking them 20 to 25 days ago, reports Odisha TV.

“I came here to collect the gas cylinder as I had run out of stock for the past two to three days. I booked it on the 2nd of this month and came on the 9th, but did not get it as the day’s stock was over. I finally received it on Wednesday," a consumer told the media outlet.


A similar situation was witnessed in UP's Noida, where resident were seen standing in long queues with cylinders at gas distributors amid fears of LPG shortage.

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LPG shortage fear sparks panic in Noida, Delhi

Amid fears of a disruption over the shortage of LPG gas, the consumers at Gorakhpur have been lined up outside gas agencies since early morning, looking to get a fresh stock of cylinders for their home cooking needs. "We have been standing in line since 3 a.m. The situation has been like that for 10 days... If people do not arrive on time, many return home without gas. Around 400-500 people are in the line," a buyer Ajay Nishad told ANI.

With the widening West Asia conflict disrupting energy supplies, panic booking of LPG cylinders amid fears of shortage has triggered long queues and a rush at distribution centres in Delhi too. Several distributors say the sudden spike in demand has created a temporary crisis in the local market. Many distributors said the demand for cylinders has risen sharply in the past few days, forcing them to ask customers to wait as their available stock is unable to match the sudden surge in bookings.

According to a report in The Times of India, long queues were seen outside LPG distributing agencies in Uttar Pradesh's capital city Lucknow on Tuesday after online gas booking through the IVRS helpline and other digital booking systems stopped working. Long queues were seen as online booking systems stopped working due to a technical snag.

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Unable to book LPG refills online, anxious residents queued up outside gas agency offices across Lucknow. The rush was also fuelled by concerns over a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders amid the ongoing tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel, which have disrupted global oil supplies.

At gas distributor offices in Tilak Nagar and Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi, customers waited for hours at booking counters after the online portal developed a technical snag, forcing many to visit agencies in person to secure their cylinder refills.

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Govt changes LPG refill rule

The government has increased the minimum waiting period for booking a domestic LPG cylinder refill to 25 days from 21 days, a move aimed at preventing hoarding and ensuring equitable distribution of cooking gas, government sources told the news agency PTI. According to the sources, prices of petrol and diesel are expected to remain stable unless global crude oil prices breach the USD 130 per barrel mark, while current projections suggest crude could remain around USD 100 per barrel.

(With agency inputs)