IMPHAL, Dec 19: While people of the State have been facing acute shortage of LPG on account of the UNC’s indefinite economic blockade, one truck load of LPG refills belonging to a particular distributor has been sold in the black market.
A well placed source informed that 306 LPG refills allocated to a distributor based in Chandel district were loaded on a truck at Sekmai bottling plant on December 10. The whole truck load of LPG refills was sold to some people who deal in used, empty LPG cylinders at a place of Thoubal.
Meanwhile, the price of a single LPG refill at black markets has reached between Rs 1500 to Rs 2200. What is rather strange is that none of the authorities concerned has been paying any attention to diverting subsidised LPG refills to black markets.
At Mayang Imphal, domestic LPG refills are available round the year in two shops. Even before the UNC’s economic blockade came into force, LPG was sold between Rs 1200 and Rs 1230 per refill at Yairipok, Kakching and Wangjing in black markets. Now, each refill costs between Rs 1700 and Rs 1800.
The price has escalated to Rs 2000 and Rs 2200 at Moirang. In Imphal East and Imphal West districts, a single LPG refill costs between Rs 1750 and Rs 2000. On the other hand, the existing stock of LPG at Sekmai bottling plant has depleted to just 27 metric tonnes and the existing stock is not enough to meet a day’s requirement, added the source.
Source: The Sangai Express
