With gas company dealers insisting on passbooks to supply cylinders, domestic consumers are facing a lot of hassles due to delay in supply, which on an average extends to over a week.
In some instances, consumers in areas such as Nacharam, Tarnaka and Mallapur have complained that dealers take as many as 25 days to supply a gas cylinder after booking.
Households tense
In the current Diwali season, the delay in cylinder supply is making things tense for households.
Many are up in arms against this practice and are demanding that the gas companies expedite delivery.
Consumers resentful
“Unless the passbook is produced, delivery boys do not supply the cylinder. If the passbook gets misplaced, they simply ignore our pleas, despite producing other valid documents,” says Jamuna, a housewife from Jambagh.
Citing instructions from their respective oil companies, dealers are insisting on passbooks for making entries and ensuing delivery of cylinders to genuine consumers.
Many consumers, however, complain that inordinate delay in supply of cylinder continues despite having passbooks.
“Despite having passbooks, delivery boys supply cylinders to us only after 25 days from the date of booking,” says M. Bharathi, a housewife in Mallapur.
Supply of cylinders is delayed as delivery boys have to go back without supplying cylinders and consumers are made to approach their dealers for passbooks.
Only after verifying the records do dealers sanction a cylinder to the consumer, many complain.
100 dealers
There are about 100 dealers in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts and each dealer delivers close to 500 cylinders a day, depending on the area of operation.
Dealers claim that these measures are to contain illegal connections.
“If consumers produce passbooks at the delivery time, there won’t be any delay. It is cumbersome for us too as delivery boys are made to make two to three rounds to supply a cylinder,” says a member of Twin Cities LPG Dealers Association.
