Puducherry, March 12 The Puducherry government has established monitoring committees at the district, regional, and territorial levels to ensure the continuous and equitable supply of petrol, diesel, and LPG cylinders across the Union territory.
The Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, in a statement on Thursday, said that these committees have been established "to ensure seamless monitoring of supply chains and to promptly address any local distribution concerns."
These committees will directly coordinate with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and distribution agencies to prevent any disruptions, the Director said.
The Puducherry Administration has held high-level discussions with the OMCs, which have assured the government that there would be no disruption in the supply of petrol, diesel, and LPG cylinders in Puducherry, and that adequate stocks are available, the statement said.
Dubbing the circulation of certain unverified sources and social media platforms claiming that there was "shortage of fuel and LPG cylinders in the Union territory" as "false, baseless, and misleading," the Director of Civil Supplies reiterated his appeal to the public to rely only on official communications issued by the government and to refrain from spreading or acting upon unverified information.
Reiterating the government's stance on LPG cylinders, the Director said that adequate stocks of the cylinders are available and that the cylinders will be supplied exclusively to domestic consumers as per the directives of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
"Any diversion of domestic LPG cylinders to commercial or industrial purposes would attract strict legal action under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act 1955, as well as under the Petroleum Products (Maintenance of Production, Storage and Supply) Order 1999, and any other applicable laws in force," the Director said.
The Director appealed to the public not to panic or engage in panic buying of fuel and cylinders, as such behavior would only strain distribution networks and cause unnecessary inconvenience to fellow consumers.
The Director urged the public to approach the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs to present any grievances they may have related to the availability of fuel and LPG cylinders.
