Kashmir LPG dealers up in arms over change in home-delivery rules

Srinagar: Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) dealers are up in arms against the government for making one-time passwords (OTPs) mandatory for home-delivery of cylinders from next month.

The dealers feel that the proposed mechanism would lead to chaos and hit LPG home deliveries, especially in rural areas.

“First, they (government) made us link the bank accounts of customers, and the process consumed a lot of time. Later, they started online booking and its documentation took another year. Then ‘Ujwala Yojna’ kept us busy for two years. And now, they want us to home deliver cylinders only after the customers receive an OTP. In metros, it may be feasible but we will face problems in rural areas and also in many urban pockets. It will create a lot of chaos,” Jammu and Kashmir Gas Dealers Association (JKGDA) general secretary Jagmohan Singh Raina told The Kashmir Monitor.

He said the new mechanism was being implemented in a phased manner following the directions of the Centre. He said the new system would severely hit home deliveries of cylinders.

“Home delivery is a laborious job and the delivery boys work like laborers. How will they check OTPs? Many are not educated and a sizeable population especially in the rural areas still does not understand OTPs. The scheme is being implemented in phases from November 1 and initially, it will be applicable in smart cities. We are also being pressurized to implement it (in Jammu and Srinagar first) but we are not happy at all. Online bookings are already affected due to the availability of 2G service only. We are presently holding consultations to chalk out the future course of action,” said Raina.

Riyaz Ahmad, who home delivers LPG in his lorry, said the new system will badly affect their working.

“Now, we have developed a rapport with our customers. While some book online, many others directly call us and we deliver the same in a day or two. The process of having OTPs will only lengthen the process….it already took us several months to get adjusted to the process of linking bank accounts and now streamlining the new system will again consume a lot of time. More difficulties will be there for those customers who do not have their addresses and phone numbers updated with the LPG dealers,” he said.

The new system, which will be known as the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC), is being implemented from November 1. It will be initially implemented in 100 smart cities across the country. As per the new system, customers will have to show the OTP code for receiving an LPG cylinder at the time of home delivery.