CHENNAI: With Monday’s tripartite talks between LPG tanker owners, oil companies and the State Government failing to resolve the ongoing strike, there are growing concerns that the supply of LPG to consumers could run out.
Residents of Chennai, however, need not worry about any impending LPG cylinder scarcity as the city gets its supply through pipeline, an Indane official said.
A senior oil company official said that if the strike was not resolved within the next three days, LPG supplies will be hit.
The LPG Tankers’ strike, which will enter its fifth day on Tuesday, is depleting the stock of LPG cylinders in the southern region. The strike arises from a dispute on prices paid - a difference of 12 paise per ton per kilometre - for transporting LPG cylinders to godowns. The rate that truck owners are asking is higher than the one the tanker owners are willing to accept in the Western region, which has the highest diesel prices, according to a senior oil company official.
“We have enough inventory for the next three days. But if the strike lasts longer, we will feel the pinch,” he said. According to him the talks had hit a block on Monday because the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Operators Association (SRBLPGTOA) was reluctant to consider a reasonable solution.
“We are ready to hold parleys and there is a negotiation committee in place. But they are not willing to budge an inch and they are also not offering any reasonable justification for the proposed hike,” he complained.
The SRBLPGTOA insisted that the rate of `2.94 per ton per km was not viable financially.
“That is why we demand ` 3.06 per ton per km. We are not willing to withdraw the strike unless our demand is met,” said N R Karthik, secretary.
The association transports around 500 tons of LPG per day for three major LPG suppliers in the region - the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
In Namakkal, SRBLPGTOA president P Natarajan said the talks failed as the Oil Companies were not represented by top officials who have the power to take decisions on rentals. The fou-hour-long negotiations held in the presence of TN COmmissioner for Civil Supplies failed to yield any fruitful results, he added.