LPG crisis: Booking gap increased to stop hoarding
India's Indane LPG refill system crashed after calls spiked eight to 10 times the usual volume in early March, amid worries that the West Asia conflict might disrupt gas imports.
To stop hoarding, the government now requires a 25-day gap between bookings instead of 21.
Restaurants, hospitals, households prioritized
Indane, which supplies over 150 million homes, couldn't handle the rush: phone lines jammed and booking systems overloaded.
In Bengaluru, long queues formed as supply reportedly dropped by half.
Many restaurants in Mumbai had to shut temporarily; hospitality businesses in other metros also reported disruptions.
The government is making sure households and hospitals get priority for gas.
How to book refills smoothly
Indane has boosted its system capacity and is asking people to book refills after 6pm (and note that requests made between 10pm and 6am are queued and processed after 6am the next day).
They also suggest using WhatsApp, IndianOil ONE app, or BBPS for smoother bookings, but many are still struggling due to heavy traffic.