Black marketing of LPG cylinders continues despite crackdown

Despite a crackdown by the district administration, black marketing of LPG cylinders continues across the district.

Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, whose wife runs an eatery, said they often require extra cylinders. “Today, I paid Rs 700 extra for a cylinder. I have to complete customer orders and cannot refuse them,” he said, adding that it was unfortunate that some people were exploiting the crisis to make quick money.

Amid rising complaints of black marketing and hoarding, the district administration had on Friday launched a crackdown across several towns, including Patiala, Nabha, Rajpura, Samana, Devigarh and Patran.

Teams of the District Food and Civil Supplies (DFCS) Department conducted raids at 42 locations across the district to curb illegal hoarding and the misuse of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial purposes. By the evening, they had seized over 100 illegally stored cylinders.

Authorities also inspected gas agency godowns and checked the weight of cylinders being delivered after complaints of discrepancies.

Residents have complained of domestic LPG cylinders being sold for Rs 1,700-2,000, while commercial cylinders were allegedly fetching Rs 2,500-3,000.