Bengaluru, April 1 Autorickshaws and cars running on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) were seen queuing up outside gas stations in certain parts of the state on Wednesday due to a shortage in supply.
The government stated that the problem was limited to the LPG stations of private oil companies and not the state-owned oil companies.
"I have been trying to get LPG for my autorickshaw for the past four hours, but I am unable to find it anywhere. My entire stock is being depleted in the search for gas," said Abdul Kareem at an LPG station in RT Nagar.
Another autorickshaw driver, Mateen, said that he had taken his vehicle to the LPG station in RT Nagar only to be disappointed.
"This is a serious issue for us, as our daily earnings are important. We have auto rickshaw EMIs, house rent, and children's education expenses, and we need to manage our daily household expenses. In the past two days, our earnings have decreased due to the LPG shortage, which is significantly affecting us," Mateen said.
In Chitradurga, a vehicle gas station had closed its gates due to a gas shortage.
Similarly, in Mysuru, a private petrol and diesel service station had blocked its entry and exit points by erecting barricades.
Autorickshaw drivers staged a protest in front of an LPG service station in Ballari after the supply was halted. It was also reported that the price had increased by Rs 10 per litre.
Santosh, an autorickshaw driver, said that the price of LPG is Rs 84 per litre everywhere, but a private oil company is selling it for Rs 94 per litre.
The situation was similar in other parts of the state.
According to the president of the Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers' Union, M Manjunath, the main issue is with the service stations of private oil companies.
"There is a normal supply of LPG for vehicles at state-owned oil companies, but the problem lies with the private companies. They are either not supplying or they have increased the price. The government should address this issue," Manjunath said.
Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa admitted that the problem was limited to the service stations of private oil companies and not the government PSUs.
According to him, the private companies have increased the price, which has caused the problem.
The Minister appealed to the Centre to take action against the private companies.