LPG refill queues turn chaotic after bee scare - ‘double whammy’ for customers

Social media is flooded with pictures and videos showing long queues of people waiting in lines outside gas agencies to get a LPG cylinder refill amid the shortage triggered by the Iran war.

In a sea of videos showing people in distress as they wait in line for LPG cylinder refills, one such video, reportedly from Madhya Pradesh, has gone viral. This video, however, is unlike others — in it, queued up customers face a bee attack, causing panic as they scramble for cover.

The video, shared by journalist Piyush Rai, is from the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.

Rai, while sharing the video, wrote: “In Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, double whammy for customers, in queue for LPG cylinder refill, who were seen scrambling for cover during attack by a swarm of bees.”

The video has 19.3K views in just one day of being posted. Social media users found the video hilarious and flooded the comment section with jokes and political puns.

“To bee or not to bee,” a user said. While another sarcastically said, “Arreey makhkhi hi to hai, Congress ke time pe bomb girte the, chupchap jhade raho. (They are bees only. In the Congress era, these would've been bombs. Stand quietly.) ”

LiveMint couldn't independently verify the video.

Check out pics of people queuing for LPG amid shortage

Several pictures from across India showed people queuing up outside gas agencies in large numbers to get a refill.

As India grapples with an LPG shortage due to the war in West Asia disrupting supplies from key sources, the Centre on Wednesday said supply "continues to be affected due to the prevailing geopolitical situation", though no dry-outs have been reported and cylinder deliveries are continuing as normal.

Additional allocations have been made to states, with commercial LPG supply now raised to 50 per cent in phases, prioritising sectors such as restaurants, hotels and community kitchens.

According to a Reuters report, India has also invoked emergency powers and directed refiners to maximise production of LPG. It cut sales in the industry sector to avoid a shortage of 333 million homes with LPG connections.

To ensure timely access for domestic users, the government has directed that online LPG refill booking facilities be made available within 25 days in urban areas and within 45 days in rural areas.

They are also pushing households and commercial users to switch to piped natural gas (PNG) – a more convenient alternative that is both domestically produced and sourced through diversified supply.

The order issued on March 24 states that LPG supply "shall cease after three months" if a household does not opt for PNG despite availability. The provision, however, allows continuation where it is "technically infeasible" to provide a piped connection, subject to a no-objection certificate.

The move is aimed at freeing up LPG supplies from areas with pipeline connectivity and diverting them to regions lacking such infrastructure, while promoting "fuel diversification" amid global supply disruptions, including damage to liquefaction facilities in the Gulf and the continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.