New Delhi, April 9 (NationPress) The delivery of domestic LPG cylinders continues to be stable, as over 51.5 lakh cylinders were distributed on April 8, despite supply challenges stemming from the West Asia crisis, according to a statement released on Thursday.

Online bookings for LPG have surged to approximately 98 percent, with no reports of shortages at distribution centers. The use of Delivery Authentication Code for deliveries has increased to around 92 percent to mitigate diversion issues at the distributor level.

In addition, more than 1.06 lakh 5 kg LPG cylinders, primarily utilized by migrant workers, were sold nationwide, compared to a daily average of 77,000 in February. Since March 23, around 10 lakh 5 kg cylinders have been sold.

The public sector oil companies have initiated surprise inspections, issuing over 1,870 show-cause notices, penalizing 189 LPG distributorships, and suspending 53 distributorships, as stated.

A committee composed of three Executive Directors from Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is collaborating with State authorities and industry associations to optimize commercial LPG distribution.

On Wednesday, approximately 6,711 metric tonnes of commercial LPG (equivalent to over 3.5 lakh 19 kg cylinders) were sold, leading to a cumulative total of 99,796 metric tonnes since March 14.

More than 18,000 Piped Natural Gas consumers have canceled their LPG connections through the MYPNGD.in platform. States have been directed to facilitate new PNG connections for both domestic and commercial users.

All refineries are functioning at full capacity and maintain sufficient crude inventories. The country is also ensuring adequate stocks of petrol and diesel. Domestic LPG production from refineries has been escalated to cater to local demand.

The government is committed to ensuring the availability of petrol, diesel, and LPG, and citizens are advised to refrain from panic buying of fuel and unnecessary LPG bookings. The public is encouraged to utilize digital methods for booking LPG cylinders and to limit visits to LPG distributors unless essential, the statement emphasized.

Furthermore, the government has announced an extension of the increase in the commercial LPG limit to 70 percent of the pre-March 2026 bulk consumption level for industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals, food, polymers, agriculture, packaging, paints, uranium, heavy water, steel, seeds, metal, ceramics, foundry, forging, glass, and aerosols.