LPG supply still insufficient
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 30 2024: For the last three months, the people of Manipur are being denied access to sufficient quantity of LPG supply.

Notably, Kuki militants attacked a convoy of POL and LPG TTs on NH-37 near Keimai on April 16 and inflicted injuries to two drivers apart from causing substantial damages to some POL and LPG TTs.

Denouncing the attack, drivers undertook a cease work strike and thus transportation of POL and LPG was suspended for around 20 days.

Transportation of POL and LPG was suspended again for around eight days after the collapse of Irang Bridge.

Movement of convoys of POL and LPG TTs was suspended again for several days after Kuki militants unleashed mayhem at Jiribam.

As a result, the stock position of LPG at the Sekmai bottling plant plummeted to an abysmally low level.

With the stock position abysmally low, the Sekmai bottling plant started releasing just around 10 truck loads of LPG refills in a day from May 30 onward.

Earlier, the bottling plant used to release 45 truck loads of LPG refills to distributors in a day.

Around June 12, IOCL released 12 truck loads of LPG refills, sources informed.

On account of the much reduced number of LPG refills released from the Sekmai bottling plant, LPG distributors have been unable to meet the consumers' demand since May.

In the meantime, CAF&PD Department issued an instruction to the IOCL's State Level Coordinator not to release more than 15 truck loads of LPG refills in a day.

But the bottling plant could not release even 15 truck loads in a day as the stock position was quite low, said the sources.

Then IOCL started releasing 100 to 200 LPG refills to distributors.

This supply was not for all distributors or on a daily basis.

Following the widespread violence which erupted on May 3, 2023, Sekmai bottling plant stopped supply of LPG refills to the distributors of Kangpokpi, Senapati, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal.

LPG supply to distributors comes from Silchar and Dimapur, said the sources.

Nonetheless, Sekmai bottling plant is still supplying LPG refills to around 80 distributors which have a total consumers of around four lakh.

It is the failure of the State Government and the IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Limited) to ensure uninterrupted transportation of bulk LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) to the State, the sources added.

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