Crisis in Numbers: Queues Stretch for Hundreds of Meters and Gas Prices Double on the Black Market

In a field observation of the figures surrounding the escalating cooking gas crisis, local reports showed citizen queues stretching for distances exceeding hundreds of meters in front of filling stations in provinces like Babylon and Karbala, where some wait for over 6 hours to obtain a single cylinder. The language of the black market has been even harsher, with cylinder prices doubling to record unprecedented leaps, reaching a 150% increase over the official subsidized price. These numbers reflect a genuine paralysis in the national distribution system and an inability to meet the growing daily demand. Despite repeated statements of denial from official authorities regarding production shortages, the numerical reality on the ground confirms a massive leakage of official quotas toward the black market, placing thousands of families and small restaurant owners under a suffocating financial pressure that drains their daily budgets.