Illegal refilling of small and commercial LPG cylinders has led to a severe shortage of LPG domestic cylinders in city. The small cylinders, which come in 2kg, 4kg and 5kg sizes, are refilled at various illegal points like Uppal, Amberpet, Abids and Khairatabad, among others. Though sale of small cylinders is banned as per government norms, several shops in the town continue to sell them openly.
These cylinders, which are mostly bought by persons without LPG connections, need refilling frequently due to the small size of the cylinder and the less quantity of gas. Illegal refilling of 19.2 kg commercial cylinders from the regular 14.2 kg domestic cylinders has also became rampant. As this was not enough, the steep hike in auto LPG prices announced by the oil companies recently has added to the woes of domestic consumers.
A large number of illegal filling stations have come up in the city, where the gas for domestic use is transferred to cylinders of cars, autorickshaws and also small cylinders. However, it’s the genuine consumers who are the worst affected on account of this illegal trade. They are forced to wait for weeks to get a refilled cylinder.