LPG consumers slam 'letterhead culture'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 19 2015: Taking strong exception to the clarifications made by some distributors with regard to news reports published in The Sangai Express regarding issuance of additional refills to some privileged consumers, the All Manipur Domestic LPG Consumers' Welfare Association has questioned whether those people who came with 'letterheads' deserved subsidized LPG refills than those genuine consumers who are in possession of LPG connection cards.

It appears that LPG distributors have more respect for those people who come with letterheads of some influential people than their genuine consumers, remarked the association's president Angom Jayenta.

It is a matter of serious concern that most of the LPG distributors have been citing 'letterheads' as the primary factor for issuance of additional refills.

If the 'letterhead culture' is allowed to go any further, all the consumers may decide to surrender their consumer cards and go after letterheads of some influential people or those people sitting in the power corridor.

Those in possession of 'letterheads' need not book in advance unlike the general consumers.

They can take LPG refills whenever they wish/need, Jayenta said.

It is a fact that LPG consumers of the State never get the total number of refills entitled to them in a year.

They never got the volume of LPG they needed.

Nonetheless, when a subsidized refill ran out, consumers can buy subsidized refills at inflated prices from black markets.

This is a clear indication that LPG is available abundantly in Manipur.

It is rather disappointing that no responsible authority is looking into this lop-sided distribution pattern and leakage of subsidized LPG refills to black markets.

To let the general public/consumers substitute LPG with firewood/charcoal as and when their LPG refills ran out when those handful of influential people are given interrupted LPG supply is sheer injustice, he decried.

It is a common knowledge that bandhs and blockades are quite regular in Manipur but bandhs and blockades cannot be the sole reason for the acute shortage of LPG faced by the general public.

The Government, IOC and all concerned authorities need to take some concerted efforts to ensure that all the consumers get LPG to the bare minimum requirements, if not abundantly.

A complaint letter enclosed with all the letterheads submitted to LPG distributors for taking LPG refills would be sent to the Prime Minister and the Union Petroleum Minister with an appeal to look into the abominable culture using letterheads for taking subsidized LPG refills, Jayenta said.

Copies of the same letter would also be submitted to the top officials of IOC, Angom Jayenta told The Sangai Express.

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