Harried LPG consumers run out of steam

Taking a day off from work, waiting in serpentine queues and facing glitches online. It has been a harrowing experience for consumers trying to submit required documents for their LPG connection. However, for some, all it took was a mere 10 minutes

CHAOS RULES
There was a long queue and chaos at the agency office when we went. Even officials there did not know what consumers had to submit. It took us four days to give all the required papers.
Sivamani S | Vijayanagar I had a terrible experience when I went to submit details at the agency. I had to wait for two hours in a queue. I had taken half a day leave to submit the form. There were two queues with 25 people each. I waited from 9.30am to 11.30am. But I was unable to submit it as I had to get back to work. Now, I have to go another day to submit the documents.
Kumari Devi | Vidyanaranyapura The common man is confused with the government notification. There is utter panic, thanks to various constraints in getting the required papers on time. Senior citizens have to stand in a queue which is ridiculous.
N S Srinivasa Murthy | president, FKCCI I was unsure whether to submit it to the LPG distributor or to the main office of the agency. Hence, I tried to submit the details online but there were glitches. Now, I am planning to post the same to the LPG distributor. But I fear the documents may be misplaced. I don’t even know how they will ensure that the papers are kept safe.
Vijay K | Ramamurthy Nagar READY RECKONER: HOW TO DO IT
    IF YOU HAVE AN APL CARD You have to submit the APL card number, RR number and LPG consumer number. The details should be submitted along with a copy of the electricity bill and first page of the LPG passbook.
    IF YOU DO NOT HAVE
    APL CARD Submit details of RR number, LPG consumer number. The details should be submitted with a copy of the electricity bill and first page of the LPG passbook.
    You can post it under certificate of posting to: The commissioner, food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, No 8, Marketing Federation Building, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052
    You can fax it to the commissioner’s office at 080 22372204
    Scan the documents in your computer and go to the department website ahar.kar.nic.in. Open the page and submit therein. You will get an acknowledgment. ALL IS WELL
I submitted the electricity bills at Bharath gas agency in Jayanagar on the first day itself. There were no long queues and I faced no difficulty. But consumers must be updated on the next step that takes place. We should also be informed about the process of confirming the authentic card holders. This has to be made transparent and all the papers submitted should be checked. Consumers with legal connections should not be harassed.
M Chidambaraiah | GIRINAGAR I did not face any problem in submitting the details at the agency. The officers were helpful and told me clearly as to what to submit when I contacted them. I went to the Indane gas agency office in Avalahalli and submitted the form to the person collecting the papers from all the consumers. It took just 10 minutes. Though I had options to email or send it through post, physically submitting it would ensure that the papers have safely reached the distributors.
Meena Kumari | NAGENDRA BLOCK Since we do not have an APL card, we knew that we had to provide the RR number, consumer number and a copy of the old electricity bill and the first page of the LPG passbook. There was a contact person at the HP gas agency on Jayamahal Road. He was sitting outside with a box. He helped people who were not aware what they had to submit. I didn’t have to stand in long queues the day I went.
Sabaheth Farhana |
SHIVAJINAGAR ON THE EDGE
Gas agency staff stressed out
    In Mangalore, the staff at gas agencies are feeling the heat with queues getting longer by the day. Most of the agencies have connections ranging from a minimum 9,000 to 14,000. As of now, only 40% of the consumers have submitted the required documents.
“We have to keep all other work like booking, route setting, delivery, and billing on hold. Customers are irritated and don’t understand this,” says Sarita, whose agency staff have been skipping lunch almost every day. In other gas agencies, a person doubles for a colleague while he or she goes for lunch. At most agencies, there is no one to attend to the phone.
Shashikanth, a bus driver, flew into a rage when the agency staff told him that he had missed his appointment by five minutes. “My timings are such that I cannot come within the specified time. What do I do?” he asks. He was relieved when the staff told him that he could continue to book his gas. TNN

Consumers submit their forms at an agency in Bangalore

Source:taimes of india