Kamal Ghorui
Bengaluru: Even as the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas denied any changes to LPG refill booking timelines, distributors in Karnataka released a list of revised intervals for different types of connections Wednesday.Members of the Karnataka circle of the All-India LPG Distributors Federation outlined modifications in the refill booking intervals—the number of days after a booking when the next refill can be scheduled—for various connections.The ministry, however, clarified that the existing timelines remain unchanged: 25 days in urban areas and 45 days in rural areas, regardless of the type of connection. “Citizens are advised not to circulate misinformation and to avoid unnecessary or panic booking of LPG refills,” it added. The ministry’s clarification on X saw several replies from customers with screenshots reflecting revised intervals.LG Kumar, secretary of the federation, said the changes were reflected after the decision to revise was taken by companies Tuesday evening. However, he added that the revision was taken back by Wednesday evening. “Neither the oil companies nor the ministry have to face the consumers. We have to face the consequences of whatever is implemented. Companies must communicate well in advance to avoid inconvenience to the public as well as distributors,” he added.On Wednesday afternoon, federation members claimed that the refill interval had been increased for various connections. For 14.2 kg domestic cylinders under double-bottle connections, the interval reportedly rose from 25 to 35 days. For 5 kg and 10 kg composite cylinders under double-bottle connections, the intervals were said to be 12 days and 25 days, respectively.For single-bottle connections, the intervals were reported as 25 days for 14.2 kg cylinders, 9 days for 5 kg, and 18 days for 10 kg composite cylinders. For Ujjwala connections, the purported intervals were 45 days for 14.2 kg cylinders and 16 days for 5 kg cylinders.Avoid panic bookingDistributors also appealed to the public not to resort to panic booking, fearing shortage of cylinders amidst the West Asia war, assuring that the supply of domestic LPG cylinders remains normal. “However, the number of bookings has gone up drastically, leading to disruption in the regular delivery process of LPG cylinders,” Kumar said.
