Residents irked by extended delay in LPG supply

CHENNAI: Angered by the delay in supplying the domestic LPG refills, consumers on Tuesday staged a road blockade on Medavakkam Main Road at Adambakkam. A little past noon, consumers, who had gathered at the local Indane distributor’s office — Rose Gas Agency — to enquire about the status of their refill deliveries, staged a road blockade after what they called ‘improper’ response from the agency personnel.Many, who had come to take the refills, also joined the protest and complained that refills were not delivered even after 35-40 days from the date of booking. The agitated consumers engaged in a verbal duel with the agency employees.“The management is callous. They don't even respond properly. Be it refills or complaints like gas leaks, their reaction is indifferent and causal,” said K Narayanan, a consumer from Thillai Ganga Nagar, Nanganallur. Angelina Arokyadas, another resident, said she was asked to take the gas cylinder herself if she needed it urgently. The complaints of others too were similar. Unattended phone calls, inordinate delay, unsatisfactory responses and callous attitude were some of the complaints.Soon, local police arrived on the spot. Pacifying the consumers, police officials requested them not to disrupt traffic movement and promised to facilitate a meeting with the agency personnel to resolve their problems. Local councillor MR Naresh Kumar (Ward 165) joined the consumers and held talks with the agency officials.“They say that the huge backlog is due to the truck strike. Bad roads near the warehouse were also cited as a reason for the delay by them to the consumers. This issue has already been addressed. Slush has been removed and the road has been strengthened by loading gravel and sand. So, this should no more be a cause for delay,” Naresh Kumar said.When asked, Indian Oil officials in charge of domestic LPG distribution, said the area manager had been asked to look into the issue. “We are fully committed to addressing the problems of our consumers. Their complaints will be looked into and resolved as soon as possible,” an IOC spokesman said. Agency officials, however declined to comment.