Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 14: The government on Friday acknowledged that the shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas remains a matter of concern as supply disruptions continue amid the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

The shortage has particularly affected commercial establishments such as restaurants and hotels. To tackle the situation, the government has advised commercial users to temporarily shift to alternative fuels like coal and kerosene.

State-run Coal India Limited has issued instructions to ensure coal supply for small and medium commercial consumers so that businesses have access to alternative fuel options.

Briefing reporters, Sujata Sharma said the government is closely monitoring the LPG situation but clarified that there has been no complete dry-out at any of the country’s nearly 25,000 LPG distributors.

Sharma said the major challenge currently is panic buying rather than an actual supply disruption for domestic consumers. On normal days, about 50 lakh LPG cylinder bookings are made across the country, but the number has surged to around 75 lakh bookings per day.

To ease the pressure, the government has approved an additional allocation of 48,000 kilolitres of LPG over and above the regular quota.

Officials also stated that there is no shortage of Piped Natural Gas and households with access to PNG infrastructure have been encouraged to switch to it to conserve LPG supplies. According to official data, around seven lakh LPG consumers have the option of shifting to PNG.