New Delhi [India], April 27 (ANI): The Central government increased the allocation of commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to 70 per cent to maintain market stability as energy imports faced disruptions from the West Asia crisis.

The decision aimed to protect domestic consumers and the transport sector while addressing recent instances of panic buying at various distribution points across the country.

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"The allocation of commercial LPG has also been increased to 70%. There is still panic buying at many LPG distributors. We have a sufficient supply of LPG. And because of this, there is no dry out on any distributor. 93% of the supply is being done through the authentication code of the LPG cylinder," said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery) in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on Monday.

In the commercial sector, in the month of April, more than 165,600 tons of commercial LPG have been sold, up from approximately 1,29,500 tons in March.

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Auto LPG sales also experienced a sharp increase, reaching 386 tons per day in April compared to 177 tons per day during the first two months of the year.

In the small cylinder category, Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) sold over 19.5 lakh 5-kg cylinders since April 1. This coincided with the establishment of 9,080 awareness camps where 146,000 cylinders were sold.

Regarding natural gas, the government has gasified more than 5,52,000 Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections since March, with 6,21,000 new consumers registered for the network. To date, 42,600 PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections.

Sharma stated that the government ensured total protection for domestic LPG, PNG, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transport. She confirmed that supply lines remained functional despite the external pressures currently affecting energy imports.

"As you know, due to the West Asia crisis, our energy imports have been affected. But the Indian government has been trying to ensure that the domestic LPG, PNG consumers and CNG transport can be 100% protected and the supply can be ensured. And this has been done," Sharma said.

The Ministry reported that the use of authentication codes served to stop the diversion of cylinders. On Sunday, distributors continued operations to facilitate deliveries and prevent backlogs.

"In the case of petrol pumps, all the supplies are normal. But panic buying is being seen in some places. Due to this, some problems are being immediately sorted out. I again request everyone that the supply of petrol and diesel is also normal. Please avoid panic buying and rumours," Sharma stated.

To curb irregularities and manage artificial demand, enforcement agencies conducted inspections and raids at 1,800 locations on Sunday. These actions resulted in penalties for 310 distributors and the suspension of 71 LPG distributors.

"Through all of you, I would like to request everyone not to believe in rumours. And act as per the need of LPG, petrol and diesel," she said. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)