Fears of a disruption in LPG supplies amid the Iran war have triggered anxiety among households and restaurants.
In New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram and Bhubaneswar, restaurant owners reported warnings from LPG delivery agents about possible shortages. Delhi’s Kerala Hotel owner Jerin George told The Telegraph his outlet uses two to three cylinders daily and may have to switch to induction cooking, though that would sharply reduce output.
Ashish Ahuja, who owns two restaurants in South East Delhi, uses piped gas. “If there is a shortage, we can switch to a slightly abridged menu and think about cooking on electricity.”
Pradeep Shetty, Mumbai-based vice-president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, said electric or induction cooking is not widely viable for Indian-style cooking and requires costly equipment changes. He warned that if supplies are not restored within a few days, up to half of the restaurants could temporarily shut.
Hospitality bodies, including the National Restaurant Association of India, have urged petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri to clarify the government’s position on commercial LPG.
S. Subramanya Holla, president of the Bangalore Hotels Association, said, “A scare has spread across other districts in Karnataka. Fortunately, they are yet to feel the pinch.”
In Bengaluru, hotels reported difficulty procuring commercial cylinders, with some cutting operations to half-day shifts.
J.K. Mohanty, chairman of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha, said the disruption could affect tourism, bookings and livelihoods, including 50,000 hotel workers in Odisha alone.
Households are also seeing delays. An LPG agency supervisor in Delhi said domestic refill backlogs have stretched to three days as consumers rush to book cylinders amid fears of shortages. Thiruvananthapuram homemaker Priya Dinesh told The Telegraph that she had been awaiting delivery of the gas cylinder for more than a week now.