Social media is flooded with pictures and videos showing long queues of people queuing outside gas agencies to get refills of LPG bottles amid shortages triggered by the war in Iran.
In a flood of videos showing distressed people waiting in line to refill their LPG cylinders, one such video, purportedly from Madhya Pradesh, has gone viral. But this video is different from the others – in it, customers in the queue face an attack of bees, causing panic as they scramble for cover.
The video shared by journalist Piyush Rai is from Umaria district in Madhya Pradesh.
Rai, while sharing the video, wrote, “In Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, double whammy for customers, queuing up to refill their LPG cylinders, who were seen scrambling for cover during a bee swarm attack.”
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The video has 19.3 thousand views in a single day since its publication. Social media users found the video hilarious and flooded the comments section with jokes and political puns.
“To bee or not to bee,” said the user. While another sarcastically said, “Arreey makhkhi hi to hai, Congress ke time pe bomb girte the, chupchap jhade raho. (They are only bees. They would have been bombs in Congress time. Stand still.)”
LiveMint could not independently verify the video.
See photos of people queuing for LPG amid shortage
Several images from across India showed people queuing in large numbers outside gas agencies to get refills.
Prayagraj: A view of a closed gas agency amid reports of a nationwide shortage of LPG cylinders (ANI Photo)(Nitin Sharma)Anantnag: People wait with empty LPG cylinders to use refilled ones amid ongoing supply crisis (PTI Photo)(PTI)Navi Mumbai: People carry empty LPG cooking gas cylinders for refilled gas cylinders at Sanpada (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)(HT PHOTO)Lucknow: People queue to refill their LPG cylinders (ANI Photo)(Naeem Ansari)Ranchi: Women sit on empty LPG cylinders and wait in a queue outside a gas agency (PTI Photo)(PTI)Read also | Eating out? No LPG or fuel charges allowed on your bill, CCPAC clarifies Chikkamagaluru: People queue up with empty LPG cooking gas cylinders to use refilled ones amid ongoing supply crisis (PTI Photo)(PTI)Residents queue up with empty cylinders to refill LPG cooking gas in Lokhandwala Township, Kandiavli, Mumbai (Photo: Satish Bate/Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times)
As India grapples with LPG shortages due to the war in West Asia disrupting supplies from key sources, the Center on Wednesday said supplies “will continue to be affected due to the prevailing geopolitical situation”, though no drought has been reported and cylinder deliveries are continuing as usual.
Read also | Households close to PNG networks must switch from LPG within 3 months
Additional allocations have been made to states, with commercial LPG supplies now gradually increased to 50 per cent, with priority given to sectors such as restaurants, hotels and community kitchens.
According to a Reuters report, India also used emergency powers and ordered refiners to maximize LPG production. It cut sales in the industrial sector to avoid a shortage of 333 million households with LPG connections.
To ensure timely access for domestic users, the government has mandated that online LPG refilling booking facilities be made available within 25 days in urban areas and within 45 days in rural areas.
It is also pushing households and commercial users to switch to piped natural gas (PNG) – a more convenient alternative that is both produced domestically and sourced through diversified supplies.
An order issued on March 24 said LPG supplies would “cease after three months” if a household does not opt for PNG despite availability. However, the provision allows for continuation where it is “technically impracticable” to provide a pipeline connection, subject to a no-objection certificate.
The move aims to free up LPG supplies from areas with pipeline connectivity and redirect them to regions lacking such infrastructure, while promoting “fuel diversification” amid global supply disruptions, including damage to liquefaction facilities in the Persian Gulf and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
