Chandigarh: The ongoing conflict involving United States, Israel and Iran has begun to impact fuel supply in parts of Punjab and Chandigarh, with residents facing long queues for LPG cylinders.
According to reports, the delivery of commercial cylinders had already been affected over the past two days, and now domestic LPG supply has also been disrupted in several areas, forcing people to wait for hours outside gas agencies.
In a tragic incident in Shehna village of Barnala district, a 66-year-old man, Bhushan Kumar Mittal, died of a suspected heart attack while standing in line for a gas cylinder. Family members said he had been waiting for nearly two hours and was around 25th in the queue when he suddenly collapsed.
In Amritsar, a dispute reportedly broke out at a gas agency in the Islamabad area between the manager and a customer over the distribution of cylinders. Witnesses said tensions rose after customers complained about not receiving cylinders.
Residents across cities have reported similar issues. In Ludhiana, a man said two youths allegedly snatched a cylinder he was carrying on his scooter after obtaining it from an acquaintance. In Jalandhar, an LPG consumer claimed he received a delivery message from Indane but the cylinder was not delivered.
Long queues have also been seen outside gas agencies in Chandigarh. Meanwhile, government and administrative officials have maintained that there is no shortage of domestic LPG.
However, consumers have complained that online bookings are also facing issues as gas company servers are reportedly overloaded, preventing one-time password (OTP) confirmations required to complete bookings.
