Guwahati, April 17: Three persons have been arrested and licences of six LPG distributors suspended in Assam since March as part of a crackdown on hoarding, illegal diversion, and violations of standard operating procedures, officials said on Friday.

Nitin Bhatnagar, Executive Director and State Head of IndianOil, told reporters that despite the enforcement actions, the supply of domestic LPG cylinders and petroleum products remains “completely normal” across the state.

Currently, Assam has 1,737 petroleum retail outlets 1,461 operated by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and 276 privately owned, along with nine supply depots. On average, 2,935 kilolitres of petrol and 3,670 kilolitres of diesel are distributed daily, with stock levels sufficient for 21 days of petrol and 46 days of diesel.

Regarding LPG, services are being provided to around 93 lakh consumers through 604 distributors and seven bottling plants. Daily deliveries average 1,39,000 refills, with a backlog of about 4.28 days being cleared as per scheduled bookings.

Since last month, OMC officials and state government personnel have conducted 319 inspections, leading to three arrests, one FIR, and the seizure of 274 cylinders. Show cause notices have been served to 88 distributors, with six suspensions already enforced.

Bhatnagar highlighted progress in digitisation, noting that online bookings have risen to 84 per cent from 49 per cent two months ago, while Delivery Acknowledgement Confirmation (DAC) compliance has improved to 72 per cent from 37 per cent.

He added that daily refills under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) stood at around 44,595 in March, compared to 62,000 in February. To support low-consumption households, migrant labourers, and students, 5 kg LPG cylinders are being made available.