On Tuesday, the log books of many LPG distribution units in the city recorded four digit numbers like ‘7002’, ‘5890’ and ‘4569’ on their booking column. If you are a consumer of LPG, then you must take these numbers seriously, as they indicate the number of people on the waiting list.Almost all the LPG distribution units in the city have been running out of stock since Monday due to the ongoing strike called by the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association last Thursday, demanding fresh transportation contract and induction of new 500 bullet tankers by the oil companies.If the situation continues, a consumer has to wait for at least 40 days to get a refill. So the talk between the oil company executives and Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association to be held on Wednesday will be crucial.There are four bottling plants in Chennai, two run by Indian Oil Corporation and one each by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. According to A Ramachandran, president of All-India Indane Distributors Association, more than 90% of the bottling plants have gone dry.Indian Oil Tanking Limited (IOTL), Manali, the only refinery in Chennai, is also the only unit which is not affected by the strike because it has a pipeline facility to the nearby Chennai Petroleum Chemicals Limited (CPCL).But production from the unit is not enough to meet the demand of about 26 lakh consumers in Chennai and its suburbs. “With the pipeline facility from CPCL, IOTL can produce only 80 loads per day. On a normal day, the bottling plants including IOTL can produce 350 truck loads a day (each truck carries 300 domestic cylinders). Barring the 80 loads, the bottling units depend mostly on bullet tankers from other refineries in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Kochi for the remaining 270 loads.“If the strike continues, the waiting period for refill may go up to 40 days because of the backlog,” said Ramachandran.On an average, 300 to 400 refill bookings take place in each distribution unit every day in Chennai. N R Karthik, secretary of the Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners Association, said the organization will hold talks with the oil companies on Wednesday. “We hope the issue will be resolved soon,” he said.