Bhopal News: Industries Stare At Shutdown Amid LPG Crisis

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A severe shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has pushed hundreds of industries in the industrial areas of Bhopal, Pithampur and Mandideep to the brink of shutdown, with industry representatives warning that if the supply crisis continues for another week, many units may be forced to close operations.

The disruption has already started affecting production across fabrication and food processing units, raising concerns about economic losses and supply chain disruptions.

Around 1,100 industries operate in Bhopal’s Govindpura Industrial Area, of which nearly 500-600 depend on LPG as a primary input for their daily operations.

The sudden halt in commercial LPG supply has severely impacted production activities, particularly in fabrication units where profile cutting requires LPG along with oxygen cylinders. Without LPG, essential cutting processes for manufacturing tanks and other fabricated components cannot take place.

President of the Govindpura industrial area association Vijay Gaur said Bhopal is considered one of the major hubs in the country for manufacturing power transformer tanks.

The production process requires cutting metal sheets of different sizes and thicknesses through profile cutting, which depends heavily on LPG supply. The industrial area consumes an estimated 700-800 commercial LPG cylinder of 19kg each every day.

However, for almost a week now, suppliers have stopped delivering commercial cylinders altogether, Gaur said. In some cases where cylinders are available through indirect channels, they are reportedly being sold at nearly four times the normal price, he added.

Similarly, in Pithampur, more than 100 factories are struggling because of the LPG crisis. Manufacturers of life-saving injections are unable to complete the sealing process without gas, while many factories run their operations fully on gas-based systems.

With pipeline supply from Avantika Gas reportedly halted, food processing units that rely on automated gas-run plants have also been affected.

President of the Pithampur industrial area organisation Gautam Kothari said engineering, pharmaceutical and chemical industries are facing similar challenges, as most sectors now depend on gas to some extent.

Earlier, factories used coal, furnace oil or diesel, but under the Clean Air Project they shifted to gas pipelines. With coal furnaces removed, more than 100 factories are now facing heavy losses.

Production in industries at Mandideep has been severely impacted due to the disruption in gas supply, leading to reduced output and rising operational costs.

According to Vikas Mundra, Chairman of the Association of All Industries, Mandideep, nearly 80-90% of factories in the area are facing difficulties, as most units depend on gas for their operations. Mundra said Mandideep has over 400 factories, and a majority of them are affected because gas is essential for running burners, hot air systems and other equipment used in manufacturing.

“If the situation continues for another week, industries will have no option but to shut down operations. Industry representatives have already submitted data regarding LPG requirements to the MSME department, including details of around 200 industries and their daily consumption. Additional data is also being collected and forwarded to authorities in an attempt to resolve the crisis.”

Vijay Gaur, President, Govindpura industrial area association

Author- Rishita Tomar