LPG Crisis: Commercial Cylinder Supply Increases To 70%, Industries Resume Production As Workers Return, Offer Canteen Meals And Incentives

The West-Asia tension has created a severe shortage of commercial LPG that impacted industries across the country, and as per latest reports, things are finally getting easy after weeks of disruptions. The government of India has increased the supply of commercial LPG. Allocation has been increased by an additional 20 percentage point, taking it to 70 per cent of pre-crisis levels. 

Key sectors such as steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals, and plastics have been given priority status by the government because these industries employ a large number of workers and are closely linked to other industries. 

Many factories reported that things are now gradually turning normal. Head of the appliances business at Godrej, Kamal Nandi told media that ““Earlier we had visibility of only one or two days. Now it’s improved to about a week,” he further said that the production is now running at full capacity with no major labour or raw material issues. While in the automobile sector, supply related issues at smaller vendors are easing whereas larger manufacturers have managed to limit damage by using alternative fuels wherever possible. 

Mayank Shah, working with Parle Products, reports that LPG availability has improved and it is helping previously affected plants get back to near normal production level. CEO of Epack Durable, Ajay DD Singhania, said that supplies have recovered to almost 60 per cent and are expected to reach around 80 per cent this week. 

The migrant workers have also started returning to work who left or stopped coming to work because of food shortages and high black-market LPG prices that force them to shut down small eateries and mess facilities. 

Companies have resumed providing canteen meals and offering incentives of up to Rs 5,000 to retain workers after which the attendance has been improved. However, some companies admit that production losses suffered over the past three to four weeks cannot be recovered instantly. The government’s decision to increase commercial LPG supply and give priority to critical sectors appears to be working. However, instead of this the situation remains sensitive and could change quickly if the conflict in West Asia became worse. 

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