TIRUPATI: The ongoing war situation in the Middle East involving Iran, Israel and the United States has begun to affect the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in parts of the State. The impact is now being felt in Tirupati, Chittoor and Annamayya districts where the supply of commercial gas cylinders has been temporarily restricted.
According to official sources, petroleum companies have issued fresh guidelines to gas distributors across the country following directions from the Government of India. The new instructions advise agencies to limit the supply of commercial LPG cylinders in order to ensure uninterrupted availability of domestic cooking gas for households.
The restrictions are reportedly due to concerns over possible disruptions in the import of crude oil and natural gas from Middle Eastern countries amid the ongoing conflict. As a precautionary measure, major petroleum companies including Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum (HP) and Bharat Petroleum (BP) have instructed local distributors to prioritize domestic LPG supply.
Gas agencies in Tirupati, Chittoor and Annamayya districts have therefore restricted the distribution of 19-kg commercial cylinders, which are mainly used by hotels, restaurants, bakeries and other commercial establishments. The move has been implemented over the past three days, creating concern among business operators who depend heavily on LPG for daily operations.
Sources also revealed that bulk LPG supplies arriving at the bottling plant located in Puthalapattu mandal of Chittoor district have become limited, further tightening availability for distributors.
Officials indicated that the three districts together have more than 14 lakh domestic LPG connections and around 2.1 lakh commercial connections. Each district has more than 5.5 lakh domestic consumers. In Tirupati city alone, nearly 40,000 commercial cylinders are used regularly by hotels, restaurants and food establishments.
Meanwhile, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has requested petroleum companies to ensure uninterrupted supply of commercial cylinders for essential temple services. LPG is heavily used in the Srivari Potu, the main temple kitchen where lakhs of Tirupati laddus are prepared every day, as well as for the Annadanam programme that serves free meals to thousands of pilgrims daily.
Speaking to TNIE, A leading gas agency owner in Tirupati confirmed that LPG prices have also increased due to the international situation.
The price of a 14.5-kg domestic cylinder has risen from Rs 890 to Rs 949, while the 19-kg commercial cylinder price increased from Rs 1,963 to Rs 2,077.