Oil companies have intensified measures to manage the growing demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders by extending booking and delivery schedules.
A change has been made to the Delivery Authorization Code (DAC), or OTP process. Earlier, consumers would receive the DAC immediately along with booking confirmation. Now, the auto-generated DAC is being issued about three-four days later and, in some cases, nearly a week afterwards.
Consumers can only collect their cylinders or receive home delivery after obtaining the DAC.
In urban areas, fresh bookings are not permitted before 25 days of the previous refill.
In rural regions, consumers cannot book a cylinder before 45 days of the previous booking.
Gyanendra Kumar, a resident of Ismailganj near Chinhat, said he had booked a cylinder 16 days ago but received the DAC nearly eight days after booking.
“The agency has promised delivery tomorrow, but the wait has already been long,” he said.
Similarly, GK Shah, an advocate residing in Alambagh, booked his domestic LPG cylinder on March 14. He received the DAC on March 25 and has been assured delivery by the month-end.
Despite the delay, Shah expressed confidence in the system. “There is no point in rushing to the agency. They have been communicating regularly and assuring timely delivery. In the past, deliveries have been made as promised,” he said.
Oil companies, for their part, have urged consumers to avoid panic booking. As part of demand management, they have introduced a staggered delivery mechanism for second cylinders. This system, driven by software controls, is designed to regulate distribution and ensure that more households receive at least one refill during the shortage.
Jagdish Raj, president of the All India LPG Distributors Federation (UP Chapter), said, “Earlier, DAC was activated when one used to book the cylinders because there was no rush but now the DAC is sent when we generate vouchers and put them on the company system. This helps us in streamlining the distribution system, that’s why the distributors keep on informing the consumers when the delivery of the cylinder would be performed.”
Sanjay Bhandari, executive director and State Head of Indian Oil Corporation, also the coordinator of oil companies in UP, said things are now being controlled by software in coordination with distribution agencies.
“The distribution agencies are directed to increase the number of distribution staff so that more and more cylinders are delivered on the same day. We are dispatching cylinders as per demand and there is no shortage of domestic LPG in the state,” he said.
The bookings, which were around seven to eight lakh per day in the state on normal days, went beyond 25 lakh when the rush started and they are still hovering around 11.5 lakh cylinders per day. The companies are trying to increase the supply up to 7.75 lakh a day while bringing down the number of panic bookings by extending the booking and delivery time.
For now, consumers are left to navigate longer wait times and rely heavily on assurances from agencies as the system struggles to stabilise, said Dheeraj Kumar, a resident of Gomti Nagar waiting for his domestic LPG cylinder.
www.hindustantimes.com
#Lucknow #Oil #companies #tweak #booking #delivery #schedules #LPG #rush
