Kamal Ghorui
Centre on Wednesday said there was no shortage of LPG in the country, and that it was prioritising Piped Natural Gas, adding that it had adequate diesel and petrol supply.“Domestic PNG connections are a top priority for the Government of India, and 100% of them are being supplied. Similarly, CNG used for transportation is also being made available to 100% of consumers,” Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), ministry of petroleum & natural gas, said.Addressing concerns over fuel availability, the government urged people not to pankeric. “We have the capacity to refine approximately 26 crore tons of crude oil annually. Over the past two days, we have seen lines outside retail outlets and petrol pumps in many areas, and panic buying has also been observed. We have sufficient petrol and diesel available. There is no shortage at any petrol pump,” it said.“Therefore, do not believe rumours and avoid panic buying. There has been no increase in the price of petrol and diesel,” the government said.Assuring people of the supply of LPG, the government said, “Regarding LPG, there is no shortage at any distributorship. Online booking is good. Approximately 26 states have allocated 22,000 tons of commercial LPG so far, and this allocation is nationwide.” To check misuse, the government said, both the Center and states have stepped up enforcement. “Yesterday, approximately 2700 raids were conducted in various states, and approximately 2000 cylinders were seized.”The government also said that kerosene was made available as an alternative fuel. “Regarding kerosene, the Government of India has made additional allocations as an alternate fuel option to all state governments, and allocation orders have been issued in approximately 16 states and union territories,” it said.The government also clarified that reports claiming a change in LPG refill booking timelines were false. It said the existing refill booking timelines remained unchanged and continue as before.
