Indramayu Faces 3kg LPG Scarcity, Bupati Lucky Hakim Urges Pertamina and Police to Crack Down on Misappropriation

Bupati of Indramayu, Lucky Hakim, has responded to public unease over the difficulty in obtaining subsidised 3-kilogram LPG cylinders, commonly known as ‘gas melon’, across several parts of his region. The scarcity is considered to be disrupting domestic activities and the productive agricultural sector. Lucky revealed that the most massive complaints came from residents and farmers in the Gantar District area, as well as several other buffer subdistricts in Indramayu. ‘Yes, I have received a lot of complaints, especially in the Gantar District area. Several other subdistricts are also complaining about the scarcity of that green LPG, the 3-kilo one,’ Lucky told journalists on Tuesday (23/6/2026). In response to these complaints, Lucky admitted he has established communication with the distribution authority holders. However, the administrative reports received by the local government are inversely proportional to the fact of scarcity at the grassroots level. ‘We have contacted Pertamina several times and were answered that it is in accordance with the delivery order and so forth. But in practice, it is indeed difficult now,’ he explained. Lucky suspects this scarcity is triggered by the high price disparity between subsidised and non-subsidised goods. This condition is thought to fuel opportunities for the criminal act of transferring the contents of 3kg cylinders into commercial cylinders by unscrupulous agents or official bases. The impact of the disrupted gas melon distribution extends to the upstream agricultural sector. Farmers in Gantar District are currently heavily dependent on 3kg LPG supplies as a cheap fuel source to operate water pump machines for irrigating their rice fields. Therefore, Lucky urged PT Pertamina (Persero) to immediately go into the field to conduct a total investigation and to discipline the official base chain so that the subsidy is precisely targeted. ‘If it is indeed according to the delivery order, why is there a scarcity? Are there unscrupulous individuals deliberately hoarding or what? Please, Pertamina, coordinate with the police or whoever so that there are no problems like this,’ stressed the 48-year-old Regent. He worries that if this energy supply chain is not normalised soon, the Indramayu region, known as one of the national rice supporters, will face serious risks in the food sector. ‘Because if this leads to crop failure, it will eventually become a problem. Besides, water is needed,’ he concluded.