“LPG Crisis Panic”: Long Queues Across Bengal As Gas Demand Doubles Amid West Asia War Fears
Panic buying of cooking gas has triggered massive queues outside LPG dispensing stations and gas agency offices across Kolkata and several districts of West Bengal on Thursday, as government assurances failed to calm fears of a possible supply disruption linked to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Large numbers of auto-rickshaw drivers and domestic consumers rushed to refill cylinders, leading to an unusual surge in demand that overwhelmed booking systems and stretched delivery timelines across the state.
Outside auto LPG pumps in Kolkata, long lines of auto-rickshaws were seen waiting for hours. Several drivers said they had been standing in queues since the previous night just to refill their fuel tanks.
Drivers also reported that the price of auto LPG in the city has increased by around ₹5 per kilogram, but many said the bigger worry is the uncertainty over whether they will be able to get fuel at all.
Several drivers said they were forced to remain idle for long hours as refuelling took far longer than usual, affecting their daily earnings and forcing them to reduce trips.
The rush for cooking gas also severely affected digital booking systems used by oil marketing companies. Distributors reported repeated server crashes as consumers tried to place refill requests through mobile apps, websites and call centres.
According to distributors of Indane LPG, the average number of daily LPG bookings in the state has nearly doubled. Earlier, around one lakh cylinders were booked daily, but the number has now jumped to around two lakh bookings per day.
Bijan Biswas, spokesperson for the Indane LPG Distributors’ Association in Bengal, described the situation as panic-driven demand.
He said, “This is panic buying. Many people are afraid they might not get another cylinder soon, and that has led to this crisis.”
Biswas also said that booking servers were going down repeatedly for four to five hours at a stretch, as thousands of consumers tried to book LPG refills simultaneously.
Because online systems became unreliable, many consumers began visiting local gas distributor offices in person to place booking requests, creating long queues outside agency offices from early morning in several neighbourhoods.
Dealers across the state said delivery waiting times have now stretched to five to six days in many areas. Some consumers have also complained that their bookings were cancelled automatically or that delivery attempts were falsely marked as unsuccessful.
Despite the LPG pressure, officials from the Petroleum Dealers’ Association said supplies of petrol and diesel across the state remain normal.
However, the LPG shortage has already started affecting restaurants and small eateries across Bengal. Industry representatives said deliveries of commercial LPG cylinders to many establishments have slowed or stopped, forcing several restaurants to reduce operations.
Many eateries have cut down their menus and reduced cooking hours to conserve fuel until supplies return to normal.
Officials from the National Restaurant Association of India warned that the crisis is already hurting the hospitality sector and could lead to significant financial losses if the situation continues.
Meanwhile, retailers selling electronic appliances and household goods reported a sudden rise in sales of induction cooktops and electric cooking appliances, as households looked for alternative cooking options.
Amid the growing panic, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday directed oil marketing companies to restore LPG booking servers immediately and prioritise deliveries to households whose cylinders have run out or are close to empty.
