HYDERABAD: The consumption of 19 kg commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders continue to remain low in the city, months after the lockdown norms for most sectors were relaxed.
According to data provided by the Telangana LPG Dealers Association, the sale of 19 kg commercial LPG cylinders in Hyderabad was around 4 lakh per month before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Soon after the nation-wide lockdown, which was imposed in March, the sale of commercial cylinders went down by 90 per cent. The decline in consumption of commercial LPG was around 84 per cent in April, 61 per cent in May, and around 50 per cent till December.
“We have been in this line of business for the last 70 years and this is the first time that we have witnessed such a dip in sales. Commercial sales of LPG are still low as most IT employees in the city are still working from home, resulting in a complete shutdown of office canteens and eateries. In addition to that, although hostels have reopened, their business is not back to normal. Most of our clients claim that their businesses are operating at 50- 60 per cent level,” said commercial distributor Parikshit Shah.
However, according to Telangana LPG Dealers Association secretary Jagan Mohan Reddy, there has been signs of recovery. He said, “We are hopeful that in the next couple of months the IT sector will reopen completely and sales will improve.”