A severe shortage of cooking gas cylinders has led to a tragic incident in Farrukhabad of Uttar Pradesh. Amid reports of LPG scarcity in several cities, a 75-year-old man collapsed while standing in a queue to collect a cylinder at a Bharat Gas agency near the Lal Sarai Water Tank under Kotwali police station limits. The elderly man, identified as Mukhtar Ansari, suddenly lost consciousness while waiting in line.
People present at the spot immediately tried to save him by performing CPR and attempting to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, doctors declared him dead on arrival, turning the gas cylinder queue into a scene of tragedy and shock.
According to family members, Ansari had already booked a gas cylinder earlier and reached the agency around 6:30 am on Friday to collect it. After standing in the queue for several hours, his health reportedly deteriorated suddenly. His relatives rushed him to the hospital after being informed, but doctors confirmed that he had already passed away. The incident has left his family in deep mourning.
Family members said Ansari had been suffering from health issues for some time. Despite this, he had no choice but to stand in line himself because the cooking gas at home had run out completely. They expressed distress that such severe shortages had never been experienced earlier and that even after booking a cylinder, people are now forced to wait in long queues outside agencies. Local residents have demanded that authorities restore the earlier gas supply system to avoid such incidents.
The crisis appears to be spreading beyond Uttar Pradesh. In a similar incident in Barnala of Punjab, a 66-year-old man named Bhushan Kumar Mittal reportedly died of a heart attack while waiting in line for a gas cylinder. With long queues being reported at gas agencies across several regions, public anger is growing. While officials maintain that the situation is under control, the continuing supply disruptions are raising serious concerns among consumers.