HANAMKONDA: A sudden surge in domestic LPG cylinder bookings has put distributors under mounting pressure in the erstwhile Warangal district, with stretched manpower and strained operations leading to frequent delivery delays, leaving both distributors and consumers grappling with the fallout.
Distributors say the spike in demand has overwhelmed an already tightly regulated supply chain. PV Rao, president of the Federation of LPG Distributors of India, told TNIE that each distributor in the state is facing a backlog of around 5,000 pending deliveries, a figure that continues to rise. Across the state, many LPG distributors are facing similar challenges.
Contrary to public perception, distributors said there is no national shortage of domestic LPG. The delays, they explained, stem from bottlenecks in the movement of cylinders from ports to bottling plants and onward to distribution points.
Operating within a tightly regulated, system-driven framework — where stocks are allocated by bottling plants, inventories are monitored by oil marketing companies (OMCs) and deliveries follow the booking sequence — any upstream delay directly affects supply.
Distributors also said they are facing unwarranted criticism, with public frustration often directed at them despite factors being beyond their control. “It is important to understand that distributors are the last-mile service providers, and any upstream disruption inevitably reflects at our level,” PV Rao said.
Amid the confusion, misconceptions among consumers have worsened the situation. Distributors stressed that domestic LPG cylinders are supplied through an established home delivery system, making it unnecessary for consumers to bring empty cylinders to their premises, as it only leads to congestion and delays.
Reflecting these challenges, P Ramesh, a resident of Station Ghanpur in Jangaon, said the booking process itself has become difficult. “The number for booking was not working. When we visited the distributor, we were asked to use the mobile application. We completed the booking and have been waiting for one week, but the cylinder has still not been delivered,” he said.