West Asia conflict: As Centre prioritises LPG supply for households, businesses face disruptions

The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Monday that the Centre was prioritising the supply of liquified petroleum gas, or LPG cylinders, for domestic use amid disruptions to fuel imports due to the war in West Asia.

“Non-domestic supplies from imported LPG is being prioritised to essential non-domestic sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions,” stated the ministry.

It added that a committee of three directors of oil marketing companies had been constituted to review the representations for LPG supply to restaurants, hotels and other industries.

The Indian Oil Corporation, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are three major oil marketing companies in India.

For domestic supplies, the Union government had also raised the minimum waiting period for booking an LPG cylinder to 25 days from 21 days to “avoid hoarding/black marketing”, stated the ministry.

The Centre’s move to prioritise domestic use has led to the oil marketing companies tightening the supply of LPG for restaurants, hotels, bakeries and small industries that rely on 19-kg and 47.5-kg cylinders, CNBC reported.

Stating that the supply of commercial gas cylinders to hotels had been stopped, the Bangalore Hotels Association warned on Monday that restaurants in Bengaluru may have to shut down temporarily, The Hindu reported.

The association urged the Union government to intervene and restore...

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