Gas delivery boys bear the brunt of hike in LPG cylinder prices

For the past two days, gas delivery personnel in Chennai and elsewhere have had to face many angry and disgruntled customers, thanks to the hike in price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that came into effect on April 8. 

For the past two days, gas delivery personnel in Chennai and elsewhere have had to face many angry and disgruntled customers, thanks to the hike in price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that came into effect on April 8. 

Bala, a delivery worker in south Chennai, said these were mostly consumers who had made online payments for the cylinders. “Out of, say, 100 customers, about 10 to 15 argued with me. They refused to pay the ₹50 per cylinder. It took me around half an hour to convince one person,” he said.

Murali, another delivery worker, said in a few cases, he had to call the owner of the gas agency to sort the issue out. At a regular customer’s place, he gave up his usual tip to ensure that the amount was paid to the office. “I didn’t want to jeopardise the relationship that I have with that family,” he said. 

R. Priya, a consumer of Thoraipakkam, said though she knew about the increase in rates, she did not realise that she had to pay the additional amount in cash to the delivery personnel. “After doing the mandatory check of lighting the stove with the new cylinder, the delivery worker sat on top of the empty cylinder in front of my house and said I had to pay ₹50 after I gave him the OTP. I was confused and a bit embarassed too,” she said. 

T. Nagar resident V.S. Jayaraman said though consumers booked refills a couple of days before the hike and received SMS confirming the booking, they had to pay the additional amount due to no fault of theirs. At least for such bookings, the distributors must deliver the refills at the old rates, he suggested. 

Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that oil marketing companies must bring in a mechanism whereby the consumers should not be affected if cylinder prices are hiked. “Many do not even get subsidy. When such is the case, they should not be made to bear the additional burden. Already consumers are paying through their nose for fuel and other essential commodities,” he said.