Anantnag: Several LPG agencies in Anantnag town charge consumers for home delivery of cylinders but do not deliver the cylinders at homes, even though the district administration has been trying its best to make them do so.
Successive Deputy Commissioners of this south Kashmir district have been promising to pull up these gas agencies for this malpractice, but much to the dismay of the general public, none of the officials have been able to do so thus far.
The gas agencies, regardless of the market rates, charge an amount of 30 rupees for home delivery. “This is regardless of whether they deliver it to your home or not,” several people in Anantnag town and adjoining areas said.
The current price at which agencies are selling a domestic LPG cylinder is Rs 810, which includes Rs 27 for home delivery. “But people buying cylinders from even the godowns of these gas agencies are being charged the same,” residents of Bijbehara town told Kashmir Reader. “The services of these gas agencies have become even more unreliable after the heavy snowfall recently,” they said.
Locals say that the gas agencies would earlier at least come to localities with a truckload of cylinders which they parked in one place and from where people carried the cylinders to their homes.
“That happened once every month or so, but since the snowfall they are nowhere to be seen. We have to visit their offices or the godowns to get the cylinders. And despite that, we are charged for home delivery,” locals said.
Also, these gas agencies are supposed to carry weighing scales with them or keep them handy so that they can show their consumers that the cylinders have not been tampered with.
“Sadly, we have never seen a scale with them,” the locals say.
Kashmir Reader talked to the Assistant Director Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Wali Muhammad Wani, who said that the LPG cylinders were being delivered to homes, except in some places.
“Like in some villages where people buy cylinders on credit and end up paying more. Otherwise, cylinders are being delivered to home,” Wali Muhammad said. Surprisingly, he described the parking of trucks in a locality and people carrying cylinders on their backs as “home delivery”.
When asked why the gas agencies do not have the mandatory weighing scales with them, he blamed the people for not taking pains to inquire about it. “Otherwise, they carry scales in their trucks,” he said.
Kashmir Reader also tried to talk to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag, Anshul Garg, but he did not attend his phone.

Suhail A Shah