Artificial Crisis of ‘Bharat Gas’ in Jeypore

By Chitta Ranjan Choudhury: There is a dearth of ‘Bharat Gas’ in Jeypore, which is said to be an artificial crisis. On October 29, 2013, a huge rush was seen at the Maruti Gas Agency (official dealer of Bharat Gas) in Power House Colony.

The long queue triggered a huge traffic jam on Jeypore-Malkangiri road, forcing the cops to intervene and bring the situation under control. Although the consumers lined up from 6 AM, they did not get the LPG cylinders even till 10:30 AM. That resulted in chaos on the road.

The owner of Maruti Gas, Mr. Dhiren Patnaik tried to convince the people about the crisis situation. However, the consumers alleged that despite getting enough stock, the dealer is not distributing the refill LPG cylinders on time. Hoarding has been a major issue in Jeypore and the cyliners are being supplied to many vested interests by flouting the rules, they alleged.

The consumers in Jeypore have blamed the Dealer and its officials of colluding with the hoarders to create the artificial crisis. There has been hardly any satisfactory response to the consumers’ concerns, as the situation has gone beyond control in Jeypore.