The issue of LPG refill shortage has worsened across the state with the spike in demand during Easter and Vishu festivals. Adding to the crisis is the closure of the Mangalore Refinery two days ago.
According to a top official of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) here, the waiting period for LPG refills has gone up to 45 days. This was 35 days a week ago.
“We meet a large part of the production requirement at our plant in Udayamperoor here through imports via Mangalore port. For some time, there has been a fall in import of LPG and this is yet to be rectified. We don’t know why the import cut,” the official said.
There was a supply of 40 bulk LPG tankers every day from Mangalore to the Udayamperoor plant before the import cut while the supply from the Koch Refinery was of 25 tankers.
But, the supply from Mangalore had come down to 20 tankers for some time due to the fall in imports. Another 5 per cent cut is expected due to the shut down of the Mangalore Refinery following a water shortage.
While BPCL and HPCL have not been seriously affected by the import cut and are able to maintain the supply, the IOC is badly hit due to its dependence on imports.
Moreover, over 60 per cent of the LPG market in the state is controlled by IOC and the cut in its
production has hit the people most.