HANAMKONDA: Reports that fresh LPG stock had reached a gas agency in Kamalapur mandal headquarters triggered a rush of domestic consumers on Monday morning, leading to a lengthy queue outside the outlet.
Residents gathered in large numbers with empty cylinders to collect refills. Many waited for hours outside the agency as word spread that new stock had arrived.
Consumers alleged that LPG refills supply in rural areas of Kamalapur mandal had been disrupted for nearly a week. They said they were also unable to book refills through the toll-free number, which was not functioning. Repeated attempts to register bookings failed as the system did not confirm requests.
LPG agency officials attributed the issue to technical problems. They said the toll-free booking system had been affected by a server issue, which prevented confirmation of domestic cylinder bookings.
As information about the arrival of new LPG stock circulated, residents rushed to the agency with empty cylinders and demanded immediate supply, particularly for rural consumers in the mandal.
Hanamkonda district collector Chahat Bajpai clarified that there was no shortage of LPG refills in the district. She said Kamalapur has an LPG bottling unit that supplies LPG to nearly ten districts.
The collector said the rush was the result of panic booking. Normally, around 3,000 cylinders are supplied daily in the district. However, due to advance and excessive bookings, demand had increased to about 6,500 cylinders a day. Bajpai urged consumers not to panic and to follow the guidelines issued by oil companies while booking domestic LPG cylinders.
Hotels switch to firewood
Amid a shortage of commercial LPG refills, several hotels and roadside tiffin centres in Karimnagar have begun using firewood to continue operations.
Hotel owners said they have been struggling to procure commercial LPG refill cylinders for the past several days, forcing them to switch to traditional cooking methods like firewood.
Many eateries have modified their menus and put up notices requesting customers to cooperate as they are unable to prepare all food items.