Gangtok , March 13 : If you’ve been worrying about running out of cooking gas in Sikkim, you can breathe a sigh of relief. State authorities have stepped in to clarify that there is absolutely no shortage of LPG cylinders. The recent delays and sudden rush for refills are simply the result of widespread panic buying.
Lobzang Thendub Bhutia, Managing Director of the State Trading Corporation of Sikkim (STCS), confirmed that the state’s supply chain is completely stable. The STCS distribution network in Gangtok currently handles about 10,000 active consumers across neighborhoods like Deorali, Bojhoghari, Lumsey, Tadong, and Rakdong-Tintek. (Another 4,000 of their 14,000 registered users are currently inactive).
Addressing another public concern, Bhutia also clarified that recent bumps in LPG prices were mandated by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, not by local STCS authorities.
If there’s no shortage, why the booking delays?
It turns out that technology simply couldn’t handle the sudden spike in panic. Bhutia explained that the ISL online booking portal slowed to a crawl because it was overwhelmed by an unusually massive volume of requests.
Adding to the bottleneck, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bhoj Raj Rai pointed out that a temporary glitch in the national LPG booking helpline caused issues with generating consumer OTPs. Fortunately, both systems are actively being restored and are returning to normal.
Minister Rai assured residents that fresh LPG supplies are rolling into the state every single day. The minor backlog caused by the tech glitches and panic buying is expected to completely stabilize within the next two to three days.
For now, the government is making a simple request: please stop panic buying. Authorities are urging residents to book just one cylinder per card, reminding the public that a single LPG cylinder is usually more than enough to last a standard household for nearly a month.
