LPG Crisis in India News Live Update: Govt says petrol, diesel stocks adequate, no dry-outs at LPG agencies

In a major crackdown, police have busted a covert illegal LPG trade operating out of a graveyard in Banjara Hills, arresting 10 persons and seizing cylinders worth over Rs 21.8 lakh.

Acting on specific intelligence, sleuths of the task force (Jubilee Hills zone) along with Banjara Hills police conducted a raid on Sunday at a graveyard near Nagarjuna X Road. The operation uncovered a clandestine storage and distribution network where commercial LPG cylinders were stockpiled and sold at steeply inflated prices across the city. In all, 414 cylinders — both filled and empty — were seized, along with vehicles used for transport.

The arrested include Mohammed Aamir (42), identified as the main accused and gas supplier, along with Mohammed Yousuf, Mohammed Ismail, A Rama Rao, Lok Kumar, Mohammed Sakruddin, Mohammed Muntaz Ansari, Mohammed Minaj Ansari, Rajesh Pal and Ram Raj Singh. They played roles ranging from drivers and delivery personnel to labourers and facilitators.

Investigators said Aamir ran a licensed outlet, Metro gas agency, with a godown in Mamidipalle, Shamshabad, and an office in Afzalgunj. Despite holding a valid licence issued in Oct 2023, he allegedly diverted commercial LPG cylinders for illegal sale. The cylinders were transported and stored at the graveyard with the help of labourers, in violation of safety and regulatory norms.

In cities and municipalities where piped natural gas (PNG) is being provided, those who do not apply for it could lose their LPG connections within three months, food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal warned on Monday."We have found that in areas where PNG is available, some people have not opted for it," said Bhujbal.

In cities and municipalities where PNG is available or the lines are being laid, people must apply for the facility, he emphasised. "If they apply but the work is not complete, they will continue to receive LPG supply. But if they do not apply at all, they stand to lose their LPG connections in three months," Bhujbal said.

He emphasised that this did not apply to rural Maharashtra or to any areas where PNG facilities are not available. "I am speaking only about cities and municipalities where it is available already or the process has begun," said Bhujbal.

There has been a significant rise in demand for piped natural gas (PNG) connections in NCR since the beginning of March, amid reports of a crisis in LPG cylinder availability caused by supply chain disruptions linked to escalating US-Iran tensions.

In Noida, more than 4,000 applications have been received since March 1, while Ghaziabad has recorded 5,000, with officials linking the spike to supply constraints and uncertainty surrounding LPG availability.

Typically, Ghaziabad receives around 70-80 applications in a day, district supply officer Amit Tiwari said. “This number has now increased to over 200 applications in a day. The number of applications for PNG connections has gone up since March 4. We are processing them at the earliest,” he said.

In Delhi, the IGL Connect app has recorded more than 22,000 new registrations in the first 15 days of March. This marks a 14% increase in the registration rate compared to Feb, indicating consumer interest.

A 32-year-old woman was bludgeoned to death with a small LPG cylinder, allegedly by her husband, in front of their daughter inside their flat in southeast Delhi’s Pul Prahladpur on Sunday night.

Residents of the DDA Janta flats were alerted by screams and called up police. Cops from Pul Prahladpur police station reached the spot at 9 pm and found the woman, who was bleeding from her head, had already died. Her husband, Suresh Kumar, was taken into custody.

Poonam is survived by two daughters — a four-year-old who lives with her grandparents, and a younger child, aged around one-and-a-half years, who was present in the flat at the time of the incident.

Poonam, a graduate from Rajasthan, was a homemaker. Suresh is a manager at an MNC in southeast Delhi, which deals with cargo and shipments.

According to an initial investigation, the incident was triggered by an argument over financial support for Suresh’s brother. Police said Suresh allegedly attacked Poonam, repeatedly hitting her with the cylinder, inflicting fatal injuries.

At an old age home in Asola Mehrauli, dinner is usually a quiet, reassuring routine for inmates. Food is served on time, medicines are handed out, and conversations drift till it is bedtime.On Monday, though, the rhythm was suddenly disrupted. Around 42 people, over 85 years old, were served only bread and fruit after the kitchen ran out of cooking gas.

The disruption, highlighted in a post on X by the home’s owner, Pravesh Jain, points to an alleged shortage of LPG cylinders that has left the facility waiting for supplies that are yet to arrive. Jain wrote, “Agent doing black marketing and wants Rs 3,200 a cylinder. I have asked my manager to wait till tomorrow or else buy gas from the open market.”

A representative of one of the LPG suppliers told TOI that the old age home has been using domestic cylinders since its inception. “Jain should have applied for a connection under the institutional (exempted) category, which covers old age homes and other non-profit institutions, and is not subject to the 25-day booking rule currently in place for domestic connections,” he said, adding that the old age home’s connection provides the address of a household, and not an institution. “We always ask people running such facilities to be aware of the categories while applying for gas connections.”

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday slammed chief minister Bhagwant Mann, saying that "if the CM now claims there is no shortage of oil and gas in Punjab, then why was a resolution passed in the Assembly against the central govt".

Jakhar demanded that Mann immediately apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of Punjab, "because the confusion created by the AAP govt led to panic in the state over oil and gas". He added, "People began hoarding, even though in reality the supply of oil and gas was not affected."

Jakhar stated, "The rumours which the chief minister is now appealing to stop were actually caused by the so-called condemnation resolution brought by the AAP govt in the Assembly."

He further stated that the Prime Minister was already aware of global conditions, and had ensured reserves as per the country's needs. "Even now, oil and gas supplies are continuing under the same foreign policy that the CM earlier criticised," Jakhar stated.

He added, "It has always been AAP's policy to create confusion on every issue and shape public opinion based on falsehoods, but Punjab is not a state that can be misled easily. The people here are politically, economically, and socially aware, and they understand such tactics well."

In line with Union govt directives to regulate commercial use of LPG amid the West Asia crisis, the state govt Sunday issued a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to manage supply and distribution.

Under new guidelines, all commercial establishments must register for piped natural gas (PNG) connections with their respective distribution entities within seven days "to be considered under the allocation framework".

The state has categorised commercial LPG distribution into four priority sectors, which district administrations must follow. The top priority group includes essential institutions such as educational institutions, student hostels, and hospitals; second priority includes govt and public sector units, as well as canteens at airports, railway stations, and bus terminals.

100% quota to first 2 priorities

The third priority category - closely watched due to its scale - covers restaurants, dhabas, hotels, industrial canteens, food processing units, KMF (Nandini) dairies, Indira Canteens, community kitchens, paying guest accommodations, corporate canteens, and sports facilities.

The fourth category includes labour-intensive and industrial sectors such as steel, automobile, textile, dye, chemical, and plastics industries, along with seed processing, agriculture and allied sectors, pharmaceuticals, fisheries, zoological parks, poultry, and sericulture.

The SOP states the first two priority sectors will receive 100% of their quota, while supply to the third category will be considered after meeting needs of higher-priority segments.