Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has dismissed speculation about a shortage of LPG or cooking gas cylinders amid the war in the Middle East.
He told NDTV domestic production of LPG has been increased to meet demand.
“The Hormuz issue was bound to have an impact. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for proactive measures to boost domestic output. “Listen to what the prime minister has decided. We have increased domestic production.
Earlier, it was 34,000 tonnes per day. Now, it is 55,000 to 56,000 tonnes per day. He added that across India’s 1.07 lakh retail petrol pumps, there was no dry out anywhere and asked people not to fall for rumours of long queues for gas cylinders.
He said the government stepped in with temporary restrictions only to prevent hoarding and black marketing triggered by false information. But the test is, and this is what I say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” Puri said. There was no shortage of LPG anywhere,” Puri said. The convenience of digital booking is always there, he said. He said if an average family that needs a certain number of cylinders a year starts buying four times more, then the conclusion would not be good. To prevent such misuse, the government rationalised the distribution system and assured the public that the process is transparent, he said.
