‘Longer waits, lighter cylinders’: LPG shortage continues to hit daily life

An LPG shortage in Delhi leads to long waits, delivery issues, and skyrocketing black market prices affecting daily life.

An acute LPG shortage, sparked by supply disruptions due to the West Asia conflict, has left Delhi residents scrambling for cylinders as long queues, delays and soaring black market prices deepen the crisis.

Gas agencies said they are prioritising older requests while dealing with a flood of complaints ranging from “delivery complete” messages to customers without actual delivery to underweight cylinders and no definite delivery timelines.

Zahida, a domestic worker, arrived at a gas agency in Vikaspuri, hoping for answers on her booking. “The system shows you booked it on March 28. This is too soon,” the manager told her.

At another agency in Palam Colony, a customer brought a sealed cylinder that weighed 4 kgs less than the standard 14.2 kg. The staff verified the discrepancy. “This does not happen frequently,” manager Ram Singh told The Hindu. “For the past three weeks, booking requests have surged. For 700 cylinders, we are getting over 2,000 bookings, including from people who haven’t ordered in years,” he said.

Supply has declined, with agencies receiving only 300-400 cylinders daily. Mr. Singh said government guidelines bar PNG connection holders from LPG refills. “People who have PNG connections are also making LPG bookings. We are focusing on older requests and holding back recent ones,” Mr. Singh said.

For Aarti Kashyap, a 27-year-old domestic worker, securing a refill meant days of uncertainty. “The agency numbers weren’t responding.