Ghost LPG Deliveries Plague Households Amid Ongoing Fuel Crisis
Across various cities and rural locations in India, a disturbing trend of "ghost" domestic LPG cylinder deliveries is escalating, causing significant distress to consumers. These incidents involve households either receiving delivery confirmation messages without having booked a cylinder or failing to receive a booked cylinder despite it being marked as delivered in the system. This issue is particularly severe amid the ongoing conflict-prompted fuel crisis, as it leaves families unable to place fresh bookings due to mandatory waiting periods enforced by LPG providers.
Consumer Experiences Highlight Systemic Failures
Rahul Bansal, a working professional from Mohali in Punjab, shared his frustrating ordeal with TOI. He booked a cylinder recently and paid Rs 922 online, but the delivery never arrived. "After around 15 days, I got a message saying my LPG cylinder had been delivered, but it wasn't," he recounted. Bansal added that despite repeated attempts to contact the agency and the oil company, he received no response. "I kept calling the agency, no one picked up. I even emailed the oil company, but there was no response," he said, expressing suspicion that cylinders might be diverted to the black market. "I'm not 100% sure, but people say what happens is your cylinder is given to someone else in the black market, and you are made to wait," he alleged.
The situation has severely disrupted his daily life, as system restrictions prevent him from placing another booking until late April. "The next booking is not possible till April 20–25. We are managing with an induction stove," he explained. Notably, despite OTP-based delivery being mandatory, Bansal confirmed he had not shared any OTP, yet still received a false "delivered" message.
Widespread Complaints and Agency Inaction
A resident from Pimpri Chinchwad, who requested anonymity, reported a similar experience. He booked a cylinder on March 21 but received a delivery confirmation message on March 26 without actually receiving the cylinder. "I didn't receive any OTP. Usually, they send an OTP before delivery, but this time I directly got a message saying it was delivered," he said. When he approached the agency, he was informed that many other customers were facing identical issues. "They said several customers have the same problem. They asked me to contact the delivery person, but even after a week, there has been no response," he added. Like others, he is now locked out of the booking system, with a fresh booking only possible after April 20 due to enforced gaps.
Rural Areas Face Even Greater Hardships
The problem is exacerbated in rural regions, where waiting periods between refills can extend up to 45 days, compared to around 25 days in urban areas. Vinay Kumar Gond, a resident of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, detailed his plight. "We booked the cylinder on March 8, and by the night of March 9, we got a message that it had been delivered. We ignored it at first because I had exams and some medical issues, so we couldn't go to the agency," he said. Upon visiting the agency later, he was told the booking had expired and to book again, but system restrictions prevented this due to the mandatory gap. "There is no gas at home now. We have run out completely. We are somehow managing by using firewood since it's a village," he lamented, also noting he never shared an OTP.
Official Response and Ongoing Concerns
An official from an oil marketing company (OMC) acknowledged that such complaints had been reported earlier but claimed they were largely resolved after OTP-based delivery was made mandatory. However, consumers counter this by reporting that in recent cases, they either did not receive any OTP or suspect cylinders were delivered elsewhere without proper OTP verification. This discrepancy highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in the delivery system, raising serious questions about accountability and consumer protection during the fuel crisis.
The implications are severe: once a cylinder is incorrectly marked as delivered, consumers are effectively locked out of the booking system for the mandated period, forcing many to resort to alternative cooking methods like induction stoves or firewood, thereby exacerbating the hardships caused by the broader fuel shortage.
