LPG rates slashed ~ cylinder costs ₹510.35 per cylinder @ Chennai

There is one eternal negativist in social media who would cry hoarse trying to mislead people stating  that LPG cylinder is more than Rs.1000/-  - I posted on his article with diligent proof that it is not so  ~ unable to digest the reality, he put an acerbic comment on my looks ! .. that is his calibre !  : TWO certain lies : 1)  the price that he tries to put would never take in to account the subsidy that he enjoys 2) the price at Chennai for the past 1 year has never touched that figure even [proof screen shot posted down] 

                   4 decades ago, there were less than a handful of houses which had it – cooking was done by kerosene stoves and kerosene was the most sought after commodity.  Housewives were afraid of pressure cookers too.. there were lot of jokes of wives forgetting the close the gas stoves, coming to see movies and calling back their nearby homes to check whether they have switched the stove off – remember that there would be slides in Cinema theatres urging the people to ensure that they switch off the gas stoves immediately once the cooking is over…..

The red cylinder containing LPG is a prized possession for households and there is always concern as to how many days the connection would last and whether refill would be readily available. Now a days, most households have double cylinders and some have multiple connection too… still, people of worried of regular supply.  The distributor is a very important person and the arrival of gas delivery boy is heralded with happiness.  Do you know the rate of a gas cylinder ??  for  all of us who  have a domestic LPG cylinder –– the biggest worry in earlier times was :

•          When will I get the refill ?

•          How many times will I have to go the distributor

•       Am I getting a cylinder which was clandestinely used in a hotel or some other eatery elsewhere

All that has vanished ! ~ the biggest advantage now in present times is  :

o         Ease of booking [tele call / sms / web / visit too !]

o         Transparency in booking and availability (actually there has been no shortage at all in recent years)

o         Up dates on billing / availability / release / delivery

o         Fraud control mechanism preventing misuse of domestic cylinders

Not many of today’s youngsters would know the ordeals that the earlier generation had in cooking.  Even in cities there were only stoves (kerosene stoves).  In villages, it was mostly by wood fired ovens.  Imagine the plight of those who had to stand near the hot oven for preparation of food.  Worst was the plight in lighting a stove again and again – there existed pump stoves and wick stoves.   The  modern cooking gas stove uses LPG – liquefied petroleum gas, which is mostly a mixture of propane and butane.  Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid.  It may also contain small amounts of propylene and/or butylene. An odorant such as ethanethiol or thiophene is added so that people can easily smell the gas in case of a leak.

Domestic LPG today is subsidized and hence are distributed only by Public sector Oil marketing companies. LPG for domestic cooking purposes is available in 14.2Kg capacity cylinders with authorized LPG distributors of IOCL. Markets where transporting the 14.2 Kg cylinders are inconvenient, LPG is also marketed in 5Kg cylinders.  Indane is very friendly to the housewife if used in the safe and specified manner. LPG installation for a household consists of ISI approved Gas Stove, Regulator and Suraksha hose.  Use of LPG in India by customers is governed by LPG (Regulation of Supplies and Distribution) order.As domestic LPG is subsidized only one LPG connection is provided per family. As LPG distribution is controlled, each distributor has a specified area of operation and customers can avail the cylinders only if they are residing within the area of operation of a distributor.  

As many would have observed and felt happy - Chennai LPG price stands slashed by ₹100 per cylinder. The price of non-subsidised LPG on Sunday was cut by more than ₹100 per cylinder on the back of softening international rates, IOC has said. The cooking gas in Chennai is now  priced at ₹653 per cylinder from Sunday  (30.06.2019) midnight as against ₹753 currently. Subsidised price will be ₹510.35 per cylinder.

Depending on the usage in a household, the 14.2 kg cylinder might last for a month or less.  A couple of decades ago, getting a refill was difficult ordeal, especially for office goers.  The cylinder is often supplied by an Agency which acts as a retail outlet and had to be booked in person.  A telephone no. would exist but would be next to impossible to reach people on that line.  If you are lucky, the person may not answer and if by chance you get through, there is no guarantee that your cylinder has been booked as there would be no confirmation process. And days after, you might have to redo the entire process afresh.  A visit in person is often considered the right measure to book a cylinder.  There had been complaints of malpractices of cylinders booked in one name being to supplied to some others as also complaints of domestic cylinders being used for commercial purposes.  There was always lurking fear that the cylinder supplied had already been in use for a day or two in a hotel or other place !  ~ the process was cumbersome and wrought with difficulties.

In Sept. 2012, the Government  announced restriction of the supply of subsidised cooking gas to 6 cylinders per household in a year to fetch an additional Rs 20,300 crore.  The CCPA decided that each household will get 6 cylinders of 14.2-kg per annum at the subsidised rate and any requirement beyond that would have to be procured at the market rate.   Modiji went a step ahead – linked Bank Account with Gas account and Aadhar – whilst critics were busy commenting that this would never become a reality – now in a few months, people have forgotten that they were getting gas cylinders at a lower rate. Now they pay in full, and the subsidy, gets credited to their Bank Account, eliminating most mischieves in gas cylinder distribution.

Happy customer**

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

2^nd July 2019