TCN Ground Investigation · Preet Nagar, Jammu
₹1,800 for a Cylinder?
A TCN field check in Preet Nagar found a general store offering a domestic LPG cylinder for ₹1,800. The retailer alleged that only ₹50 was his own margin and that the rest moved through people connected to the supply chain. TCN has not independently verified that allegation.
JAMMU: A ground check conducted by The Continental News in the Preet Nagar area of Jammu has raised questions about the possible black-market sale of domestic LPG cylinders and the effectiveness of monitoring intended to prevent diversion, overcharging and unauthorised distribution.
During the TCN team's visit to the local market, a general store was offering an LPG cylinder for ₹1,800. The price immediately stood out because the standard domestic cylinder supplied through the authorised LPG network is priced far below that amount. A buyer turning to an unofficial source can therefore end up paying close to twice the normal domestic retail price.
When TCN questioned the retailer about the price and how a domestic cylinder had become available through a general store, he claimed that his own share was only ₹50. He further alleged that the remaining money went elsewhere in the supply chain and that persons connected with an LPG agency helped make cylinders available outside the regular distribution system.
TCN has not independently verified that claim and is not naming the retailer, any LPG agency or any individual at this stage. The allegation is being reported because it was made directly during the field check and because, if true, it would point to a leakage within a regulated distribution system that should be traceable through stock and delivery records.
LPG is not an ordinary unregulated commodity. Domestic cylinders move through oil marketing companies, authorised distributors and registered consumer connections. Distributors are expected to maintain stock and supply records and sell cylinders at the price fixed by the concerned oil company. Unauthorised possession, diversion and sale can therefore attract regulatory scrutiny.
There is also a legitimate route for consumers who need additional refills. Oil marketing companies provide procedures through authorised distributors and online booking systems. A household needing an extra cylinder does not have to depend on a neighbourhood shop selling one at an inflated cash price.
That is why the Preet Nagar finding demands a closer look. If the cylinder offered to TCN was a legitimate domestic refill, investigators should be able to identify the distributor to which it was originally supplied and determine how it reached an unauthorised point of sale.
Jammu authorities have previously announced monitoring of LPG stocks and distribution, including checks at distributorships. The J&K administration has also said that inspections are carried out to discourage hoarding and black marketing of petroleum products. Those safeguards matter only if they can detect leakage before cylinders reach informal sellers.
The authorities should therefore examine the supply chain rather than stopping with the retailer. A meaningful investigation would trace the cylinder number, distributor stock, booking trail, delivery record and the point at which it allegedly left the authorised network.
The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Legal Metrology authorities, the Jammu district administration and the concerned oil marketing company should determine whether this was an isolated resale by an individual, an illegally diverted domestic cylinder or part of a wider arrangement.
The retailer's claim that persons connected with an LPG agency facilitate such sales remains an allegation unless supported by records or official investigation. But the existence of a cylinder available at ₹1,800 in an ordinary market still raises a question that should not be ignored.
For citizens, the issue is simple. When legitimate supply is insufficient, delayed or inconvenient, a parallel market can exploit urgency. A family needing cooking gas may pay whatever is demanded. If unofficial sellers can obtain domestic cylinders regularly, the loss is not merely financial. It undermines a regulated public distribution system and shifts the burden onto consumers.
The central question now is not only who charged ₹1,800. It is whether an organised leakage exists between Jammu's authorised LPG network and its neighbourhood black market, and if it does, who is allowing the cylinders to pass through.