DINDIGUL: As the cooking gas shortage continues to affect households and eateries, unidentified persons have begun stealing LPG cylinders meant for home delivery in Dindigul, leaving delivery workers and residents concerned.
With cylinders in short supply, delivery workers have been advised to exercise caution when transporting them, especially given these thefts.
In the latest incident, a gas agency employee delivering cylinders on a tricycle in the Mengles Road area briefly parked the vehicle to hand off a cylinder to a nearby house. When he returned within minutes, one of the cylinders loaded on the tricycle had gone missing.
Residents in the area later told him that unidentified persons who arrived in an autorickshaw had taken the cylinder and fled.
A similar incident was reported in Pillaiyarnatham near Dindigul, where a cylinder intended for household delivery was allegedly stolen by a group in an autorickshaw.
The incidents come at a time when hotels, tea stalls and roadside eateries are struggling to obtain cylinders due to a supply shortage.
A few days ago, the price of cooking gas cylinders increased sharply following the Iran–US conflict. Restrictions were also imposed on cylinder distribution, increasing the waiting period for booking domestic LPG cylinders to 25 days.
In addition, domestic cylinder bookings over the phone were unavailable for the past two days due to a technical issue. The supply of commercial cylinders has also been temporarily halted, further affecting eateries and small businesses.