Plaint lines dead, cylinders missing: What raids showed at LPG warehouses in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: As complaints of hoarding and black marketing have mounted over the past few days, the food and supplies department on Tuesday raided multiple LPG distributor warehouses and found a string of violations that deepened concerns over how cooking gas was being handled and released to consumers.At four facilities, inspection teams found shortages of domestic cylinders, non-functional consumer complaint numbers, warehouses shutting before time and improper storage practices. Notices are now being prepared to be sent out to all four distributors. The action followed repeated complaints from LPG consumers, including on social media, prompting the department to launch simultaneous inspections. Teams checked the warehouses of Golden Gas and Palam Vihar Gas in Palam Vihar, and Jai Bharat and Manjit Gas in Daulatabad.District food and supplies controller Ashok Kumar said stricter enforcement had become necessary following the steady stream of complaints. To prevent further irregularities, the department has ordered daily inspections at two gas agency warehouses. These teams will verify how many cylinders each agency receives from oil companies and how many are supplied against consumer bookings, with reports to be submitted every evening for further action.Later in the day, deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar reviewed the LPG supply situation with senior officials at the mini secretariat and said domestic supply in the district was normal. He said booking facilities through WhatsApp, IVRS and mobile apps had been restored by all petroleum companies, while the supply of commercial cylinders, disrupted earlier, had resumed over the past two days.During the review, officials said the city had received 17,725 commercial cylinders in the past two days and around 3.3 lakh domestic cylinders so far this month. With 58 gas agencies operating in the district, consumers are getting cylinders within two to three days of online bookings, he added.The DC asked officials to prioritise LPG supply to hospitals, educational institutions with hostels, weddings and sports academies, and ordered that 20% stock be kept in reserve. He also asked all SDMs to monitor local LPG stock daily and send reports to his office, while urging residents not to panic or believe rumours about shortages.