New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) The distribution of domestic LPG in the country remains normal with more than 52.3 lakh domestic LPG cylinders delivered on Saturday and no dry-outs reported at any distributorship, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Sunday.

Online LPG bookings have increased to about 98 per cent, and deliveries based on the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC) have increased to around 93 per cent to prevent diversion at the distributor level, according to an update issued by the ministry.

More than 4.24 lakh PNG connections have been gasified, and about 4.66 lakh additional customers have also registered for new connections. Consumers are encouraged to use alternative fuels such as PNG and electric cooktops. All citizens are urged to conserve energy during the current situation, it reiterated.

More than 30,000 PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections via MYPNGD.in website.

Citizens are advised to avoid panic purchase of petrol, diesel and LPG and rely only on official sources for information. LPG consumers are requested to use digital booking platforms and avoid visiting distributors.

Despite the ongoing geopolitical situation, the government has prioritised domestic LPG and PNG supply, particularly for hospitals and educational institutions.

More than 1 lakh 5 kg LPG cylinders were sold across the country against a daily average of 77000 in the month of February, taking the total figure of these small LPG cylinders sold since March 23 to over 13 lakh.

Over 7,665 MT of commercial LPG (equivalent to more than 4 lakh- 19 Kg LPG cylinders) was also sold on Saturday, taking the total number of such cylinders sold since March 14 to 63.6 lakh.

A three-member committee of Executive Directors from IOCL, HPCL and BPCL is coordinating with State authorities and industry bodies to plan commercial LPG distribution.

Meanwhile, as part of the enforcement action continuing across the country to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, public sector oil companies carried out over 2, 700 raids across the country on Saturday. They are continuing with surprise inspections and have imposed penalties on 219 LPG distributorships and suspended 56 distributorships till now.

All refineries are operating at high capacity, with adequate crude inventories in place. The country is also maintaining sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel. Domestic LPG production from refineries has been increased to support domestic consumption, the statement said.

The government is making all efforts to ensure the availability of petrol, diesel and LPG, and citizens are advised to avoid panic purchase of the fuels as well as unnecessary booking of LPG. Citizens are requested to use digital modes for booking of LPG cylinders and avoid visiting LPG distributors unless necessary, the statement added.

The government has also announced that the increase in the commercial LPG limit to 70 per cent of the pre-March 2026 bulk consumption level will be extended to industrial units in the pharma, food, polymer, agriculture, packaging, paint, uranium, heavy water, steel, seed, metal, ceramic, foundry, forging, glass and aerosol sectors.

--IANS

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