CHENNAI: The domestic cooking gas demand in the State increased by 13 per cent in the month of March. The gas companies - IOCL, BPCL and HPCL have supplied over 12 lakh LPG cylinders additionally since March 24, when the lockdown came into effect.
The closure of hotels, bakeries, tea stalls and other eateries has been attributed to the sudden surge in the demand. In case the lockdown continues till April 30, cooking gas demand is expected to increase by 25 to 30 percent, according to official sources.
An official from Indian Oil Corporation said, “For the month of March the company has delivered 68 lakh cylinders as against the 60 lakh of corresponding period of the previous year. About 13 percent of demand was met without any disruption during the lockdown period,” In addition, BPCL and HPCL together delivered about 4 lakh cylinders additionally during March. The per day supply, which stood at 4 lakh before lockdown, increased to 4.4 lakh over the last few days.
“About 40,000 cylinders were supplied additionally every day despite curfew restrictions and shortage of labourers” added the official. As on May last year, the State has 2.14 crore domestic connections, of which 1.17 crore consumers are catered to by IOCL, while BPCL and HPCL supply cylinders to 59.85 lakh and 37 lakh households respectively.