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3 min readLudhianaMar 15, 2026 04:04 AM IST
People gather outside a gas agency in Talwara town of Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district on Saturday. (Express)
Several districts in Punjab saw long queues outside gas agencies and residents rushing to refill their cylinders on Saturday as panic over a shortage of domestic LPG cylinders continued across the state.
Some had to wait for hours, while some were completing their KYC formalities before they were allowed to collect or even book cylinders. These situations added to the rush and tense scenes in several places.
In Ludhiana’s Giaspura area, consumers reportedly entered into verbal arguments with the staff of a gas agency after waiting in queues for hours.
A similar situation occurred in Bhawanigarh due to a long waiting time as people started lining up outside a gas agency since 5.00 AM
In Bathinda district, farmers from Jhumba village claimed that the nearest gas agency in Sangat block kept its shutter down for hours after seeing the heavy rush of consumers. This further fuelled anxiety among people trying to secure cylinders.
Long queues were also reported in Talwara area of Hoshiarpur district. Outside the Satnam Gas Agency, consumers started gathering as soon as the agency opened around 8.00 AM.
Jasvir Singh, a government teacher and resident of Mohalla Dosarka in Talwara, said the claims of adequate LPG supply did not match the ground reality. “The Centre and the state claim there is no shortage of domestic LPG, but the situation on the ground looks different. I reached the gas office around 9.00 AM. It was a task that normally takes only a few minutes but I received the cylinder after three hours due to the heavy rush.”
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Jasvir said the inconvenience in the form of long queues could have been avoided, if the gas agencies continued delivering cylinders at people’s homes like they used to do earlier.
Avtar Singh Tari from Sangrur’s Bhullarheri village said, “Now without proper booking, cylinders are not available, which is creating anxiety. One of my friends had booked a cylinder in July last year and finally managed to book one only on Saturday after the server started working again.”
However, despite the tense situation, a glimpse of Punjab’s community spirit was seen in Bhawanigarh. The locals organised a small “chai-samosa langar” for those who were standing in queues.
Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Sangrur district, “Such things are possible only in Punjab. Chai and samosas were prepared and served to people waiting in line, even though LPG itself is the issue right now.”
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Bhupinder said panic buying was one of the key reasons for the sudden rush at gas agencies. “In rural areas, many households already use induction cooktops, traditional chulhas or cow dung cakes… Domestic LPG is used in smaller quantities because 300 units of electricity are free in Punjab.”
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