Bridging supply gap tough task for IOC

KOCHI: Cooking gas will continue to be dearer for customers of Indian Oil Corporation with storage facilities of the company remaining empty owing to the strike launched by the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Operators Association (SRBLPGTOA).With the functioning of the storage and refilling facility of the company at Udayamperoor coming to a standstill on Tuesday, customers’ troubles have only increased. The IOC also has storage and bottling facilities in Kollam and Kozhikode. The Kochi plant, the largest in terms of capacity, turns out 140 truck  loads (306 cylinders per load) of cylinders a day.However, merely eight truck loads have been sent out of the Udayamperoor plant on Thursday, which were refilled using one bullet tank of LPG that reached the plant on Wednesday night.A majority of the LPG consumers in Kochi have an IOC connection. IOC dealers in the city distribute more than 300 commercial gas cylinders per day. It is learnt that it would take a minimum of one month for distribution to return to normalcy. About 140 truck loads of refilled cylinders leave the Udayamperoor plant in a day. Each lorry carry 306 cylinders, which means that more than 42,000 cylinders are bottled and sent out on a daily basis.The plant will have to function round the clock  including Sundays atleast for a period of three weeks to make up this huge gap in supply, sources said. However,IOC agents expressed hope that pending and expected bookings could be met without further delay within three weeks, provided the strike comes to an end.“We have brought the issue to the notice of the government and we have been assured that necessary steps would be taken to solve it,” said T V Shivan, a sales manager with IOC.