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Namaskar.
If there is chaos over commercial LPG cylinders, a simple question must be asked: how long will domestic supply remain untouched? And more importantly — how long will the government continue to say there is no problem at all?
Because the story is no longer confined to a few metropolitan cities. It has quietly entered small towns, roadside eateries, neighborhood tea stalls, and the kitchens of ordinary households.
Sometimes a crisis does not arrive with sirens.
Sometimes it arrives silently — inside the kitchen.
The Crisis That Officially Does Not Exist
India’s Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently tweeted photographs of interactions with journalists. Many pictures. Many smiles. Many discussions.
But something curious was missing.
No cameras. No press conference.
Only the minister tweeting afterwards that there is no supply disruption.
If everything is normal, one question becomes unavoidable:
Why are restaurants saying they cannot get commercial LPG cylinders?
On 9 March, hotel associations across several cities said commercial cylinders were becoming unavailable. Some restaurants warned they might have to shut operations.
On the same day, reports emerged that domestic LPG bookings would not be accepted before 25 days in many places.
And by 10 March, the government invoked ESMA — the Essential Services Maintenance Act — to secure LPG and CNG supply.
Think about that for a moment.
If there is no crisis, why invoke emergency provisions?
The Invisible Workers of the Food Economy
India’s food industry is not only five-star hotels and glossy restaurant chains.
It is also:
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The samosa seller outside your office
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The tea stall at the bus stand
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The roadside dhaba feeding truck drivers
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The tiny biryani shop selling unlimited plates for ₹130
Each of these businesses often runs on one or two commercial LPG cylinders a day.
If the cylinder disappears, the shop disappears.
And when the shop disappears, something deeper vanishes:
affordable food for millions of workers.
Street food is not merely cuisine in India.
It is the fuel of the informal economy.
The Geography of the Shortage
Reports have begun surfacing from multiple cities:
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Chennai: Hotel associations warn over 10,000 eateries depend on commercial LPG.
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Bangalore: Restaurant bodies say some establishments may shut if supply does not resume.
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Mumbai: Hotel associations claim 20% of restaurants have already closed temporarily.
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Coimbatore: Restaurants have begun cutting menu items to conserve gas.
Some businesses are already considering cooking on firewood.
Yes — in the world’s fastest-growing major economy, businesses are discussing going back to wood-fired cooking.
And yet, officially, there is no crisis.
The Information Crisis
But perhaps the bigger shortage is not LPG.
It is information.
Walk two steps outside your housing society gate and ask the nearest tea vendor:
“Did you get a commercial gas cylinder today?”
That answer will give you more reality than many television debates.
And yet our newspapers are strangely quiet.
Instead of reporting shortages, some publications have started printing articles like:
“Tips to Save LPG Cylinder Gas.”
If supply is normal, why publish survival manuals?
The Global Chain Reaction
The geopolitical conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel has disrupted energy routes through the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of India’s LPG imports travel.
India imports around 60% of its LPG, and 85–90% of those imports pass through that corridor.
When that artery tightens, the ripple spreads everywhere:
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restaurants
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fertilizer plants
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ceramic factories
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transportation fuel markets
Already there are reports that fertilizer production is being reduced due to gas shortages, which may affect agriculture.
So the crisis may not stop at kitchens.
It could reach fields and farms.
The Government’s Familiar Playbook
Observe the pattern carefully:
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First, deny the problem.
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Then say supply is normal.
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Then say monitoring is underway.
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Then form a committee.
By the time the committee is formed, the shortage has already reached the street.
The Human Cost No One Mentions
When geopolitical decisions are made, speeches talk about national interest, diplomacy, strategic alliances.
But nobody asks:
What about the worker who eats at the ₹30 dhaba every night?
What about the small restaurant owner who sells biryani to survive?
If gas supply collapses, their economics collapses.
And when the economics collapses, the poor pay first.
The Real Question
Is there a shortage?
Perhaps the government says no.
But when restaurants shut, menus shrink, and workers lose cheap meals, the statistics become irrelevant.
Because reality does not live in press releases.
It lives in the kitchen flame.
And today, that flame is flickering.
Sometimes a nation does not realize a crisis has arrived —
until the tea stall stops serving tea.
Namaskar.
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