LPG supply in Mumbai limps back to normal

A month and a half after the Mumbai floods, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distributors are just about beginning to clear the huge backlog of orders. While the situation has eased considerably in many areas, some are still facing a delay of up to a week.

According to a Bharat Gas dealer in Chembur, the supplies after the July 26 rains reduced by 50 per cent, thus delaying the gas delivery by up to 20 days.

However, in the last week, the supply situation has improved considerably and as a result the wait time has come down to 7-8 days. Consumers in Colaba and Virar too are facing a similar predicament, while in Bandra, dealers say that the period has come down to 2-3 days. With the festival season round the corner, the demand is further expected to go up to 20 per cent. In many areas, the supply situation has been restored to normal just last week.

According to a source in Hindustan Petroleum, which supplies to areas around Mumbai, Pune and Raigad, the heavy rains in July threw the distribution system out of gear, as the roads were inaccessible for over a week.

The total demand of Mumbai and its suburbs is pegged at 45,000 cylinders. This demand rose by roughly 30 per cent due to the panic booking that followed in anticipation of shortage in addition to supplies to the fire in Bombay High that cut supplies by a third and worsened the supply squeeze.

"We however, catered to the additional demand by bringing in supplies from Gujarat for the Pune market, and Mangalore for the Mumbai market," sources said. Bharat Petroleum faced a similar crisis, with bookings increasing by over 120 per cent to 1,200 orders per day from the usual 500.

Faced with this demand, the company released 20 extra loads per day, which was still not enough to cater to the demand.

"Five hundred extra loads were dispatched over 25 days. However, due to excess demand, the waiting period in some areas remained long," sources said.