DAMMAM – Gas cylinder warehouses in Dammam and Al-Khobar had to close early on Tuesday as they ran out of gas cylinders. Over the past four days, the demand for gas cylinders in the Eastern Province has sharply increased, outstripping supply. “Before Ramadan, we sold 600 gas cylinders a day and 700 during weekends, but in Ramadan, the warehouse has sold 1,500 gas cylinders a day over the past four days. We had to close our doors because we couldn't meet demand. We will increase our orders of gas cylinders to satisfy demand,” said Muhammad Islam, who works in a gas cylinder warehouse. At one warehouse in Dammam, a fight broke out after an employee refused to sell a customer two gas cylinders. The employee, who said the warehouse was enforcing a one cylinder per customer rule, was attacked by the irate customer. Bystanders intervened and pulled the customer away. The angry customer then parked his car in front the warehouse's entrance and refused to move until his demand was met. After an hour passed, the police arrived and escorted the man to the police station. — SG
