Date:14/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/14/stories/2009011450380100.htm

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Backlog of gas refills high

N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI: Thousands of families across the State, including hundreds in Chennai, will run out of cooking gas in the next few days as the backlog of refills to be cleared remains high with the distributors of two major oil marketing companies.

The time taken by many distributors of Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd in Chennai, in addition to the mandatory 21-day gap between two refill supplies to a household, is as high as 15 days. The situation is worse in the suburban areas and smaller cities, say officials.

Pile-up due to protests

The huge pile-up is attributed to the two agitations, one after another, by bulk LPG transporters and officers of the two companies recently that affected production at the bottling plants of the companies across the State.