The butane cylinder crisis eased temporarily in Cairo and Giza after the ministries of petroleum and social solidarity delivered additional supplies in response to the 20-day shortage.
Carts carrying the extra cylinders were seen around the streets of Imbaba, while the crisis continued to intensify in Daqahliya, Kafr el-Sheikh, Monufiya, Ismailia, and Damietta.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity pledged to resolve the crisis in the coming days, affirming that it is boosting the supply of cylinders to storehouses and tightening monitoring procedures. Inspectors will also be sent onto the streets to ensure cylinders are sold at the official price, and not at black market prices.
Petroleum Ministry sources said the severe shortage was triggered by harbor closures due to bad weather. The source also noted that the butaneused in the cylinders cannot be stored and is thus imported regularly in small amounts.
In Daqahliya, Governor Samir Salam banned the sale of cylinders except to those street vendors who are eligible for a quota from the storehouses. He further threatened to refer violators to Public Prosecution, especially after a ten-day shortage prompted clashes between the distributors and residents in villages surrounding Mansoura.
In Kafr el-Sheikh, members of the local councils called for police supervision of the distribution process.
In Damietta, monitoring efforts detected 2035 cylinders being smuggled into neighboring governorates. The cylinders were confiscated and reports of the incidents filed.
Translated form the Arabic Edition.
