BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Raksha Bandhan gift of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of reducing the price of LPG cylinders has brought cheer to lakhs of domestic consumers, distributors of the cooking gas of three major oil marketing companies are staring at a huge loss.
With no clarity from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas or any communication from the oil marketing companies (OMCs) - Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum - the distributors are at loss on ways to offset the price of their old stock.
“We are still figuring out what to do. Cooking gas distributors from across the state (around 1,300) are asking me if there is any communication from the OMCs how to recoup the price of the cylinders stocked prior to cost revision. I have no answer for them as I am not sure what is going to happen,” said president of All Odisha LPG Distributors Association Lopamudra Baxipatra.
She said each distributor will have a minimum stock of 300 to 500 cylinders while it is more than 1,000 cylinders for bigger distributors. A hefty price reduction of `200 per cyclinder (14.2 kg), if not compensated, will put them at a disadvantageous position financially.
As per a conservative estimate, a distributor who lifts 10-15 load (each load comprising 300 to 500 cylinders) on a daily basis will have a stock of 500 cylinders while those lifting 50 to 60 loads a day will have a minimum stock of over 2,000 cylinders. Imagine the kind of loss they will sustain if not compensated by the Centre, Baxipatra, also a prominent BJD leader said.
Echoing similar concern, vice president of All India HP Dealers’ Association SB Mohapatra, a top player in cooking gas distribution in the state capital, said the Petroleum ministry should have changed the price of cooking gas a day earlier or imposed restriction on lifting of stock before the union cabinet took the decision on price reduction.
“We welcome the decision of the government as it will provide much-needed relief to consumers under the prevailing inflationary situation. But the government could have taken the concerns of the LPG distributors into consideration before or after the cabinet decision,” Mohapatra said. “This is the highest ever cut in LPG price after 2020 when the price of a cylinder was reduced by `50. The Centre compensated the loss partially after the all-India association of LPG distributors staged an agitation before the government. We expect the government will be sympathetic to our problem,” he added.