Mumbai: Domestic LPG dealer outlets are reporting a more than 100% surge in daily bookings as consumers fearing an impending shortage rush to secure supplies.Dealers said while commercial LPG supply has come to a complete halt, domestic LPG supply has not stopped. However, deliveries have slowed and what normally takes two days is now taking four to five days, and in some cases up to a week. But that may not explain the panic that appears to be setting in.Outlets which usually had bookings of around 1,000 a day now report more than 2,000. An agency in Vasai said daily bookings had jumped to nearly 4,000 from 1,000-1,200 last week. Many are customers who are trooping in before the mandatory 25-day gap required after a cylinder is delivered. Consumers queued up early on Thursday at dealer outlets in Mulund, Bhandup, Ghatkopar, Dadar, Girgaum, Vasai and Navi Mumbai, with many complaining that IVRS numbers, WhatsApp booking channels and other systems were either inaccessible or unresponsive. Dealers said nearly one in three customers are complaining that online or phone booking was not possible.Businessman Anwar Khan, who visited an LPG dealer from Bhandup, said, “People are unable to make bookings over the IVRS or any other number, WhatsApp, etc. I have been trying to book a cylinder since yesterday.” Dadar resident Sandeep Mhatre said he visited a dealer and was told delivery could take up to 7 days after booking due to the backlog. Homemaker Payal Mishra, who visited a dealer in Mulund West, said she had not received her cylinder despite booking it three days ago. A dealer, PrasanGas, who supplies BPCL cylinders in the eastern suburbs, said domestic users were being given priority and urged people not to believe rumours of a shutdown. “There is no stoppage in domestic supply, everyone will get a cylinder, the panic is needless,” he said. Several consumers were turned away because of the mandatory 25-day gap required for a fresh booking. Some dealers said booking would not be accepted during the interval. A woman who visited a Mulund dealer with her daughter said her family had no gas left to cook and feared they would have to turn to kerosene stoves or induction cooking until supplies arrived. (With inputs by Vishal Rajemahadik)
