Viral video of LPG queues in up's Birdpur sparks panic claims amid price hike
text_fields
A video showing massive crowds queuing with LPG cylinders outside a distributor in Birdpur, Uttar Pradesh, has exploded on social media, with claims it reflects panic-buying after today's LPG price hike. However, fact-checkers and users are calling it recycled old footage from years ago.
The footage captures hundreds in long, disorderly lines stretching beyond the agency gate. People shoulder empty red 14.2-kg domestic cylinders or roll them along a crowded road, amid Hindi signboards and a hectic outdoor yard. Posters suggest a desperate rush for refills.
Social media replies insist the clip predates 2014, from an era of frequent LPG shortages under the previous Congress government. No independent verification confirms its recency, raising red flags about misinformation amid current events.
The video timed perfectly with Oil Marketing Companies' announcement of a ₹60 hike for 14.2-kg domestic cylinders—to ₹913 in Delhi (from ₹853), ₹912.50 in Mumbai (from ₹852.50), ₹939 in Kolkata (from ₹879), and ₹928.50 in Chennai (from ₹868.50)—and a ₹115 increase for 19-kg commercial cylinders—to ₹1,883 in Delhi (from ₹1,768.50), ₹1,835.50 in Mumbai (from ₹1,720.50), ₹1,990.50 in Kolkata (from ₹1,875.50), and ₹2,043.50 in Chennai (from ₹1,929).
This hike hits households and businesses hard, but no widespread shortages or panic-buying are confirmed in Birdpur or elsewhere.