Faced with shrill protests from city’s auto-rickshaw owners over the shortage of LPG, the administration has said two more filling stations will come up in a month that will make it easier to phase out autos running on petrol and diesel.

While the administration sought to downplay the opposition saying it happened in Delhi too at the time of its transition to the CNG regime, auto-owners say they have run against a wall since there are only two LPG filling stations and clearly they cannot meet the demand for gas that will increase manifold.

The deadline for phasing out auto-rickshaws running on petrol and diesel was extended by two months in July, but vehicle owners say the administration never acted swiftly to augment LPG supply.

However, Transport Secretary Ram Niwas claimed the situation was normal. “The shortage of LPG would be resolved within a month with the addition of two new stations. Recently, the NoC (No Objection Certificate) has been issued to these filling stations. We are waiting for the next date of hearing in the High Court,” Niwas said.

“Instead of taking incremental steps in implementing the ban, the administration is trying to evade its responsibility. The union is not against the ban but against the administration’s attitude towards the issue,” said an auto-rickshaw operator.

The auto-rickshaw operators are also protesting against the non-availability of finance for phasing out the vehicles and buying new ones. But the administration claimed it is in talks with the financial institutions for providing loans on easy terms.