LPG shortage hits hotels, temples and weddings
From temples to institutions, hostels, messes, canteens, railways, hotels, and restaurants, establishments across the country are reporting disruptions due to the cooking gas (LPG) crisis. Some have cut down their meal menus or announced temporary shutdowns amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the resulting gas supply disruptions.
Restaurants, street food vendors, and catering businesses are scrambling for alternatives-from induction cooktops and microwaves to firewood and solar options-as commercial LPG shortages disrupt kitchens nationwide. The wedding industry is also feeling the strain, with the shortage coinciding with a busy season. In Indore, shopkeepers at the popular 56 Chaat Chowpatty have begun using electric appliances to keep operations running.
Even institutional kitchens have been affected. The lawyers’ canteen at the Delhi High Court temporarily halted its “main course” menu due to LPG unavailability but resumed services after securing supply. In Ayodhya, the temple’s ‘Ram Rasoi’ preparing daily Prasad had to shut down, while temples in Karnataka started stocking wooden logs to continue Prasada preparations.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation advised catering units at railway stations in its western zone to shift to microwaves and induction plates and maintain ready-to-eat stocks for passengers, warning, “You must switch over to alternate cooking modes to offset any potential LPG shortage.”
In cities like Bengaluru, hotels and restaurants are operating under strain due to an acute shortage of commercial LPG cylinders. Rajasthan businesses-including hotels, factories, wedding caterers, and tourism establishments-are facing operational difficulties as domestic and commercial users rush to gas agencies. No fresh bookings of commercial cylinders are being accepted, further hitting industries.
Restaurant owners warn that kitchen operations are already affected and wedding expenses are likely to rise. Some eateries are considering coal furnaces, diesel burners, or induction cooktops as alternatives. Long queues at LPG agency offices and auto-dispensation centers were seen in Kolkata and other West Bengal towns on Wednesday. The National Restaurant Association of India’s Kolkata chapter head, Piyush Kankaria, said supply to eateries has “completely stopped,” with some roadside vendors buying cylinders at nearly double the retail price. Petroleum dealers confirmed petrol and diesel supplies remain normal across the state.
