Thiruvananthapuram | The Congress in Kerala on Monday said the Central government's reported directive to LPG consumers to complete a "mustering process" at gas agencies has caused difficulties for many, especially senior citizens and women.

In a letter to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said the current system has resulted in long queues and inconvenience for consumers at gas agencies.

He suggested setting up a special system at the ward level and Akshaya Centres to ease the process.

"It has been learned that the Central government has mandated mustering for gas connections in order to ensure that LPG cylinders are held by legitimate customers. Though mustering is imperative to identify legitimate customers, the decision to complete the mustering process at respective gas agencies has caused inconvenience to common LPG holders," the letter said.

"As you are aware, majority of the LPG holders are women, and this stipulation has forced them to stand in long lines in front of gas agencies for hours to get the mustering completed. This has severely impacted their day-to-day lives. The elderly population and the bedridden are also in dire straits due to this decision," he said.

Alternative methods that can be considered are the establishment of specific stations for ward-level mustering and mustering through Akshaya centres, the Congress leader said.