Delhi’s LPG anxiety exposes the fragile dependence of urban kitchens on long and vulnerable supply chains. In a city where millions rely on LPG cylinders for daily cooking, even a brief disruption—whether triggered by global conflict, shipping delays, or domestic distribution glitches—quickly translates into queues, panic bookings, and political heat. The current squeeze raises a larger question for the capital: whether the expansion of piped gas, community kitchens, and diversified fuel access has kept pace with the city’s rapid growth or whether Delhi remains more vulnerable to external shocks than it appears.
Small food vendors, especially the ones at the lower end of the food chain, and restaurant owners across the city are suffering the most amid the turmoil. Their constant struggle to keep their eateries running has highlighted systemic and social problems the city has not fully grasped yet.
Pandemic parallel
Any large crisis in Delhi becomes a commentary on migration. Either people are flowing into the city or reversing the tide, something that was noted starkly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the LPG shortage crisis is not as big as the pandemic, there are some parallels. Few vendors from areas such as Noida, Laxmi Nagar, and Rajinder Nagar say that the crisis has forced them to change how they cook food. While some have temporarily shut their shops, others are considering returning to their hometowns.
In the busy lanes of Laxmi Nagar, Lalaram, who sells vegetarian biryani, says the sudden increase in LPG prices has severely affected his operation. Earlier, he used to buy a gas cylinder for around `1,000 to `1,200. Now, the same cylinder costs nearly `3,000 in the market.
He has stopped using LPG cylinders due to this rising cost and shifted to a stove that runs on cow dung. However, this alternative has created new challenges, he said. Cooking food on the cow dung stove takes almost twice as long as before. “It is becoming difficult to manage everything,” he said. “Food takes longer to cook, and cleaning utensils also takes more time. Maintaining proper hygiene has become a challenge.”
Lalaram is now considering returning to his hometown Etawah in Uttar Pradesh for some time until the situation improves.
Prakash Kumar Singh, a food vendor in Noida, faces similar difficulties. Singh said that the price of commercial LPG cylinders has increased drastically in recent days, and, in his area, the unofficial price is even steeper. “Earlier we used to buy a commercial cylinder for about `2,000. Now, it is being sold for around `5,000,” he said.
Unable to afford the high price, Singh has shifted to using coal and wood to cook food. But, he says the change has not helped him much, as fewer customers are visiting his stall. “Customers aren’t frequent now. If the situation continues like this, I may have to shut my shop for some time,” he said.
At a level higher in the economic hierarchy, restaurant owners are also feeling the pressure of the LPG crisis. Shoib, who runs a Muradabad-style biryani restaurant in Noida, said his business has dropped significantly in recent weeks.
He recalled that his restaurant used to remain crowded earlier, with most tables occupied. But now the scene is different.
“Earlier our restaurant used to be full. Now many chairs remain empty,” Shoib said. According to him, his business has dropped nearly by 50 per cent.
Another restaurant owner, Bharat Gupta from the Rajinder Nagar area of central Delhi, shared similar concerns. He said the rising gas prices and falling customer numbers have made the situation difficult for small restaurants.
“Our business has already gone down, and the coming days look even more challenging,” Gupta said. He added that the next two to three weeks will be crucial for his restaurant. “If things do not improve soon, many restaurant owners may face serious financial problems,” he said.
The LPG shortage has also forced some vendors to shut their businesses temporarily. Mukesh Kumar, who runs a tea stall in Greater Noida, said he has already closed his tea shop because of the high cost of cooking gas. He explained that even small quantities of gas have become extremely expensive.
“Refilling just three to four kilogrammes of gas now costs around `800 to `1,000. It is not possible for me to run my tea shop at this cost,” Kumar claimed. For now, he is relying only on his small grocery shop to earn a living.
With cooking fuel becoming more expensive and difficult to obtain, many vendors fear that their businesses may not survive if the crisis continues. They say immediate relief is needed to help them keep their shops open and maintain their daily livelihoods.
City’s IT lifeline succumbs
Nehru Place is one of the city’s major business districts and a prominent hub for IT hardware. Buyers from nearby cities frequently visit the market to procure computer parts and related supplies.
The area also sees a large number of students and IT professionals every day, drawing a diverse crowd from different parts of the city. Any disruption in a business district of such importance not only affects the economic logic of the city, it brings a bad name to the capital’s reputation as well.
However, Rishi Sharma, owner of the Punjabi Khana restaurant in the market, is helpless. He would want to keep catering to local and outstation visitors, but said that he had gas supply only for two days and was uncertain about how operations would continue beyond that. “We have been running this outlet in Nehru Place for several years.
The gas supply issue has created problems for food vendors here. Our menu has more than 50 items, but because of the shortage we have reduced it to around 15. Managing daily cooking has become extremely difficult. We have already increased the price of the available dishes by around `10 each to cope with the rising costs,” he said.
Rakesh Arora, who has been running Rajshree South Indian Fast Food and Chinese restaurant for 20 years, said “We have had to cut down several items from our menu because we don’t have enough gas to cook everything. Unfortunately, shutting down the business is not an option, because we still have to pay rent, run our household, and manage other expenses. We are now exploring alternatives, like electric cooking equipment, although it is more expensive,” he said.
Low faith in new-age cooking
In comparatively well-off areas like Kalkaji and Lajpat Nagar, the scene is no different. Street vendors and restaurant owners spoke about similar woes. Several vendors said the crisis had begun affecting their daily operations, forcing them to scale down menus, rely on domestic cylinders, or explore alternative cooking methods. Few were trying to manage by using induction cooktops or electric stoves wherever possible, though many admitted that these were not practical substitutes for large-scale cooking.
Chaudhary, who runs Chaudhary Samosa Wala shop in Kalkaji, said he has only a few days of commercial LPG cylinder is left with him. “We have just three days’ worth of commercial LPG. For now, we are somehow managing by bringing cylinders from our homes, just to keep the kitchen running. Earlier our menu included rajma chawal, paneer butter masala, matar paneer, chole bhature, kulche, samosas and bread pakoras. But if the shortage continues, we may have to stop fried items, like samosas and bhaturas. Some snacks, like bread pakoras, may stop completely,” he said.
Ankit Kumar Singh from the SriBhoj outlet at Nehru Place could be one of the very few food vendors in the city who through of moving away from conventional fuel in time. He said his operations have been less affected as most of the cooking relies on electricity. “We started this outlet in Nehru Place about seven to eight months ago. Our main outlet is in Saket, from where we receive cooked food, and most of our preparation here is done using induction. However, we are not making items like choley bhature that require gas for cooking. For now, we are only preparing dishes that require little or no gas,” he explained.
Manoj Sharma of Kaka Dhaba in Lajpat Nagar said running a kitchen without commercial LPG is difficult.“We cannot cook everything on electric stoves. Without commercial LPG, the work becomes difficult. Right now, we are managing for a day or two, but after that we may have to partially shut the kitchen,” he said.
While relatively more popular eateries, such as B K Snacks near Sri Ram Centre at Mandi House, said they were still managing the situation and had not yet cut down their menu, the impact was immediately visible among smaller stalls and tea shops.
Shiv Yadav, who runs a small tea stall behind Bengali Market—a popular hangout spot for people from different walks of life—said he has stopped preparing bread pakoras and other fried snacks due to the shortage of LPG cylinders.
“Now I only serve tea, which I make using an induction cooktop. But it takes much longer, and customers don’t wait that long,” he said. On Friday evening around 4 pm, his usually crowded stall had only a few labourers stopping by for tea. “I cannot buy cylinders in the black market. My sales are not that high, and I won’t be able to recover the cost,” he added. At Mandi House, two tea stalls have remained closed for the past couple of days, while three others have switched to small domestic cylinders and reduced their snack offerings.
In the Patiala House Courts complex, the well-known outlet Aslam’s Biryani, famous for its chicken stew, korma and biryani, has shut operations for now due to the unavailability of LPG cylinders. “Let’s see when we can reopen,” the owner said over the phone. “Everything we cook requires gas.” Referring to the pandemic years, he added, “We survived that. We will survive this too.” Two other eateries in the same complex have also temporarily shut their kitchens. Pappu, who runs a small food and tea stall there, said he has stopped preparing meals and snacks.
“People still want tea, so I have to make that. But cooking food has become too expensive. I cannot raise prices drastically,” he said, though he remained hopeful. “We are all facing this together.” Outside the Delhi High Court, Gopal Shah, who runs a small eatery, said he too has had to cut down his menu.“I have stopped making chole-kulche and aloo parathas. For now, only tea is available,” he said.
Chaotic in the city
As tensions in the West Asia continues, it is not just about diplomatic ties or loss of lives. The consequences are far worse. A chain reaction has been triggerred that is adversely affecting local economies, global trade routes, energy markets and the everyday lives of people miles away from the battlefield.
The unavailability of LPG cylinders results in rising prices, which translate into higher transportation costs, increased fuel prices and a ripple effect on the cost of essential goods.