Kashmir Heading Toward LPG Crisis

Owing to the frequent highway closure due to snowfall followed by the lackadaisical approach of the administration, Kashmir valley is heading toward a severe shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Sources told Rising Kashmir that all the major LPG companies have a maximum stock of one to two days and if the supplies do not reach the Valley at the earliest, the distribution might come to an abrupt halt. The three major companies that supply LPG in the Valley include Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC).

HPC that has a 70 per cent market share usually keeps a month’s buffer stock while IOC and BPC that share the rest of the market keep 10 to 15 days of stock at their disposal. “Almost all the companies are running out of the buffer stock. In December, we receive supplies hardly for two to three days. It is not enough to meet the requirements,” they said. The biggest hurdle that the LPG supply in Kashmir is facing is that it still operates via the traditional route of Patnitop on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.