|| Staff Correspondent: Amid households' continued struggle to secure liquefied petroleum gas despite paying prices far above government-fixed rates, sector experts and insiders have accused traders of holding consumers hostage during an acute energy crunch.The crisis might deepen further. Because, LPG distributors on Monday announced a two-day nationwide strike on October 15 and 16, halting retail sales across Bangladesh to push for an increase in their commission from Tk 50 to Tk 150 per cylinder.They have also demanded an end to alleged harassment by law enforcement agencies and measures to bring idle cylinders back into circulation, warning of tougher agitation if their demands are ignored.M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, described the sector as an oligopoly run by a handful of private companies.The vulnerability of the regulator, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, created this bottleneck, he said, warning that the regulatory framework has collapsed and the government retains virtually no grip on the retail market. The BERC has failed to enforce its benchmark price, set without public hearings in breach of existing rules, since it began fixing prices five years ago. At present, a standard 12kg LPG cylinder sells for up to Tk 2,400, against the regulated ceiling of Tk 1,837 for October. Compounding the burden, some distributors have raised empty cylinder prices by about 50 percent over the past several months. This sharp run-up in cylinder costs illustrates how private suppliers wield arbitrary control over the retail supply chain.Empty canisters from active suppliers are fetching steep premiums because other market key players - Bashundhara and Beximco - have struggled to import gas following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina administration in August 2024, when those same firms held dominant sway over the trade.At Dipto Enterprise in Dhaka's Panthapath, proprietor Ujjal Hossain said he was stocking only BM-branded 12kg cylinders at Tk 2,000. With BM supplying steady volumes into a dry market, the cost of its empty canister jumped from Tk 1,400 to Tk 2,200.Conversely, empty canisters from stalled suppliers have seen their value drop. Used Bashundhara containers are selling for as low as Tk 800. For households forced to abandon an unavailable brand, obtaining a filled container from another distributor requires buying a new metal bottle, pushing total switching costs up to Tk 4,200.