Oil marketing companies are delivering on an average 50-60 lakh cylinders a day, and are playing an important role in the national fight against Covid-19.

Speaking to District Nodal Officers (DNOs) of Oil Marketing Companies, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel, said that they should now gear up to provide three free cylinders to over 8 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries over the next three months, as part of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana.

These DNOs are responsible for LPG deliveries in their assigned areas. Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Senior Officers of the Ministry and all three OMCs-IOCL, BPCL, HPCL also attended the webinar, an official statement said.

Pradhan said that advance funds are being provided to the LPG distributors for releasing the first free cylinder, and the scheme should be implemented efficiently so that the poor do not suffer.

The DNOs reported that after the initial hiccups, things have settled down. The panic booking of cylinders, which was noticed in the initial few days of the lockdown, has stopped. They also informed that the waiting period of cylinder delivery has come down, the statement added.