Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Customers of the Indian Oil gas agency in Laad Sawangi have been left in distress as the agency has remained locked for over a month. With the agency owner’s mobile phones also switched off, consumers are unable to book or receive gas cylinders, forcing many households to revert to traditional chulhas (wood-fired stoves).
Laad Sawangi has only one Indian Oil gas agency in the village. However, for the past month, customers have not been receiving LPG cylinders, leaving around 200 cardholders in difficulty. The agency, operated under the name Shivsamarth Gas Agency and located outside the village, is a government-approved distributor.
Amid an already existing LPG shortage, the closure of the Laad Sawangi agency has further worsened the situation. The phone numbers displayed at the agency office are not reachable, and even the sales officer’s contact number remains switched off. As a result, customers have been without gas supply for nearly a month.
Many residents are now forced to cook on traditional stoves. Since there is no other gas agency in the vicinity, transferring connections to agencies in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar would mean travelling to the city each time to collect cylinders, adding to their hardship. Customers have demanded that senior authorities intervene and take action against the concerned agency operator.
A worker at the agency, Baban Ingale, said he has been working there for two years. “The gas cylinders have been exhausted for over a month. I informed the owner, but for the past 20–25 days, his mobile has been switched off. Customers started coming and abusing me, so I have closed the office. I have written the owner’s number on the shutter. There has been no contact with him for the past 10–12 days,” he said.
Local residents claimed that the agency is locked and due to non-availability of cylinders, they are now cooking on traditional stoves.