No supply shortage, Kamala Indane states

GANGTOK, 05 Dec: As consumers in the state struggle to get through all the paper work and make sense of the newly introduced cap on supply of subsidized LPG cylinders, confusion on whether there is a possible shortage of supply is also doing the rounds. However, one agency in the capital has clarified that there is no such shortage.
“There is no shortage of domestic LPG cylinders [subsidized and non subsidized] at least for our customers in the areas demarcated to us by the Indian Oil Corporation [IOC],” informed Pema Namgyal [Proprietor, Kamala Indane Gas Agency], situated at Tibet Road here in Gangtok, while speaking to NOW! today.
“As only three [this year’s quota] refills can be taken now [at subsidized rates], consumers have to produce the bluebook which includes the membership code and after checking how refills have been taken, we issue them a coupon and the person can collect the cylinder”, he explains.
It is just that there is restriction because of the subsidy, otherwise people are receiving their gas cylinders as and when they want a refilled cylinder, he said and added that one truck load [sometimes two] of LPG cylinders under the agency’s name for distribution to its customers is/ are brought on a daily basis from the Rangpo IOC plant.
Speaking on the issue of the extra Rs. 19 charged by the agency, he informed that the agency had been authorized to collect the money as surcharge by the Food and Civil Supply Department.
There is a notification given by the department, which states that an agency can collect an amount of Rs. 19 from its customer as surcharge [loading, unloading, labour charges] but within a 10 kilometer radius, he stated and added that this amount increases by Rs. 5 for every additional 10 kilometers.
“We are the only agency that puts a stamp of having collected Rs. 19 from the customer in the cash memo”, said Mr Namgyal.
Meanwhile, the other gas agencies in the Capital were unavailable for comments.