Guwahati: The nearly Rs 1,000-hike in the price of 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders has battered the commercial sector, which was already reeling under supply shortages triggered by the West Asia conflict. Overall, prices have gone up by more than Rs 1,500 since Jan.In Guwahati, the price of a commercial LPG cylinder rose to Rs 2,299 last month after a Rs 219 increase. Now, the price stands at Rs 3293.Following the West Asia conflict, production and supply of commercial LPG cylinders were regulated by the marketing companies. Official sources in IOCL here said soon after the West Asia conflict, production of commercial LPG cylinders were halted for a few days and now, the commercial LPG allocation is being maintained at 70% with priority being accorded to essential sectors such as hospitals, educational institutions, defence establishments, railways and govt offices.“The price of LPG, be it domestic or commercial, varies from district to district depending on the transportation cost,” the source added.The price of 19-kg commercial LPG has gone over Rs 3,500 in Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj in the Barak valley and the hill district of Dima Hasao, while it is cheaper in Sivasagar, Karbi Anglong, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Kamrup (Metro) district.IOCL Assam executive director Nitin Bhatnagar recently said all the four refineries — Guwahati Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery, Digboi Refinery and Numaligarh refinery — together are currently producing over 1300 MT of LPG, an increase of about 200 MT since pre-West Asia conflict time.The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Assam is already facing a 20–25% cut in supply of commercial LPG cylinders after the marketing companies started regulating production.The association’s vice president SP Sharma said the current situation for the hotel and restaurant industry is worrying. “We have heard of the shutdown of hotels in other parts of India owing to supply shortage of commercial LPG cylinders. The situation here may turn in a similar direction,” he added.The association has a total of 135 members across the state. He hoped that the situation would improve with the govt taking strategic decisions.He added that the effect of supply shortage would also hit services and might lead to gike in product prices.Meanwhile, Pankaj Sharma, a restaurant owner in Ulubari, said, “How will we survive? How will we continue our business? We are on the verge of dying.” He urged the govt to consider the difficulties that small sector commercial establishments are facing.
