LPG Crunch Hits Home: Long Queues for Cylinders, Restaurant Kitchens Dark, IRCTC Switches to Microwaves

Moneylife Digital Team 11 March 2026

Consumer Interest

The West Asia war has arrived in India's homes and kitchens. Across the country, consumers are queuing outside liquified petroleum gas (LPG) distributors for cylinder refills; restaurants are shutting their main course menus for want of commercial cooking gas; the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has directed its western zone catering units to switch to microwave and induction cooking; and Kerala's chief minister has written to the Union government seeking emergency intervention — all while the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) insists there is no cause for panic and that normal household delivery cycles remain intact.

The gap between official assurance and ground reality has rarely been wider.

This is the Initial Face of the Crisis pic.twitter.com/ZfvboaoGi4
— Dr Ranjan (@Doc_RGM) March 11, 2026

People running to book gas cylinders in the U.P

Look at their helplessness just to get something as basic as a Gas Cylinder.

This is what happens when you elect a Govt that is more focused on Building Mandirs & Statues than providing basic amenitiespic.twitter.com/UriJc2CYCv
— Nehr_who? (@Nher_who) March 11, 2026

Hotel Ananda requires 10 LPG cylinders per day, but none are available today. Hotel supervisor Narayanan says they were informed just 2 hrs ago that there would be no LPG supply today. While food for today has been managed, cooking needs cannot be met beyond today. Due to the… pic.twitter.com/y3Uk8I8wzU
— Anagha Kesav (@anaghakesav) March 10, 2026

Government: No Shortage, Normal Delivery Continues

The MoPNG has pushed back firmly against what it called panic booking. "No need for panic LPG booking; normal delivery cycle for domestic household remains 2.5 days," the ministry stated. It confirmed that 100% supply of piped natural gas to homes and CNG for vehicles continues uninterrupted, and that consumers will receive full supply without disruption.

Sujata Sharma, joint secretary (marketing and oil refinery) at the MoPNG, sought to explain the allocation framework. "Currently, LPG is being directed to the domestic sector. For non-domestic LPG, priority is being given to essential sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions. The committee is consulting with state authorities and industry bodies to finalise the plan to ensure that available LPG is distributed fairly and transparently," she says.

? India's crude supplies remain secure. Our daily consumption is about 55 lakh barrels. Through diversified procurement, the volumes secured today exceed what would normally have arrived through the #StraitofHormuz during this period

? India imports crude from over 40… pic.twitter.com/UPV6tuVvIj
— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 11, 2026

On crude oil supply, the ministry offered further reassurance: India's daily consumption of around 5.5mn (million) barrels is being met through diversified procurement, with volumes secured today exceeding what would normally have arrived through the Strait of Hormuz during this period. India imports crude from over 40 countries, the ministry noted, and as a result of this diversification, around 70% of India's crude import is now coming through routes outside the Strait of Hormuz.

On LPG prices, Ms Sharma says, the government has absorbed a significant part of the cost increase to protect consumers. "The current price of a domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi is ₹913, even after a ₹60 increase. Without government intervention, the market price would have been much higher. For PMUY beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme, the price is ₹613, and the recent ₹60 increase translates to less than ₹0.80 per day for a PMUY household."

What Is Happening on the Ground

The queues tell a different story.

In UP's Ambedkarnagar, people standing in queue to refill their LPG cylinders amid shortage reported across the country. https://t.co/Xj1BvDC07i pic.twitter.com/SrsEEmnfpJ
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) March 10, 2026

Kalesh broke out b/w Men Standing in the queue outside LPG godown, punches were traded Thankfully, UP police intervened immediately, Gorakhpur Up
pic.twitter.com/0O54x0hsBU
— Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) March 11, 2026

The Opposition has seized on the crisis to attack the government's handling of the situation. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera accused the government of misleading the public, saying: "The government has been lying through its sources. Hardeep Puri organises off-the-record briefings with the media and keeps boasting that everything is under control. And the very next day, prices increase."

Mr Khera alleged that commercial LPG was no longer merely scarce but was being black-marketed, and questioned the government's preparedness. "Domestic LPG is almost touching a thousand rupees now, and there is a shortage. What is the planning that the government has put in place in order to ensure that people of India do not suffer?" he asked.

Congress leader and member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi joined her party MPs protesting in the Parliament premises over reports of commercial LPG cylinder shortage across India.

Across Delhi, irregular commercial LPG supplies have forced restaurants to run out of fuel stock, creating a cascade of consequences, shrinking menus, rising costs and anxiety about staff wages. Industry representatives say many eateries in the capital are trying to manage through adjustments, but warn that if the disruption continues, smaller establishments will struggle to absorb rising costs without cutting wages or closing. In a particularly striking symbol of the crisis, the Delhi High Court canteen has stopped serving its main course due to unavailability of LPG — an institution not normally associated with supply chain vulnerability.

*Delhi has now joined the list of cities facing a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, creating chaos in the restaurant and hospitality sectors.* pic.twitter.com/BpaIVtud2u
— Content Soul?????? (@rajeshkodavati) March 10, 2026

Finally India enters the VEDIC AGE under Modiji

No LPG, No Oil

Go to forest, cut woods and use them to cook food just like our ancestors????

Modi hai to mumkin hai!! pic.twitter.com/LrpNQGHYXI
— Tarun Gautam (@TARUNspeakss) March 11, 2026

In Kerala, the situation has been described by the state's top political leadership as a full-blown crisis. Chief minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan wrote: "The LPG crunch, triggered by the Middle East crisis, has hit our state hard. With eateries on the brink of closure, livelihoods and food security are under threat. Recent price hikes and the restrictive 27-day domestic cylinder booking interval compound this. This predicament demands immediate attention as it cripples small businesses and burdens the common man in Kerala during Ramadan. The Union govt must intervene urgently to stabilise supply, revise restrictive policies, and provide relief to the millions affected."

The LPG crunch, triggered by the Middle East crisis, has hit our state hard. With eateries on the brink of closure, livelihoods and food security are under threat. Recent price hikes and the restrictive 27-day domestic cylinder booking interval compound this. This predicament…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) March 11, 2026

CPI-M MP John Brittas was equally blunt. "The war in West Asia is no longer distant — its tremors are now reaching our doorstep. Kerala is already feeling the shock. There is a near-total standstill in the State's LPG supply chain and the refilling of commercial LPG cylinders has been completely suspended. Hotels, hospitals, hostels and migrant workers will be hit first," he wrote on X.

The war in West Asia is no longer distant - its tremors are now reaching our doorstep.

Kerala is already feeling the shock. There is a near-total standstill in the State’s LPG supply chain and the refilling of commercial LPG cylinders has been completely suspended.

Hotels,… pic.twitter.com/qmh6cRjWXk
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) March 11, 2026

IRCTC Switches to Microwaves

In a move that underlines how far the LPG disruption has spread, IRCTC issued a communication directing catering units at railway stations in its western zone to shift to microwave and induction cooking and maintain stocks of ready-to-eat food items for passengers. Food plazas, refreshment rooms and Jan Ahaars — the low-cost food counters serving millions of rail travellers daily — have all been asked to switch to alternative cooking arrangements to maintain seamless catering services.

The IRCTC advisory directly cited the West Asia conflict as the backdrop for the precautionary measure, acknowledging that commercial LPG cylinder supplies may be affected. That a government body of IRCTC's scale has formally begun contingency planning for an LPG-free kitchen — even while the ministry insists supplies are normal — reflects the distance between official communication and operational reality.

Already on induction stoves, hot plates, ovens & no-flame cooking, IRCTC directs caterers to switch over to alternate cooking modes to ensure seamless catering! #LPGShortage pic.twitter.com/1JuZbqESzh
— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) March 11, 2026

The Supply Squeeze: What Caused It

India's LPG vulnerability stems from a structural dependence on Middle East imports that the current conflict has exposed sharply. The country consumes 31.3mt (million tonnes) of LPG annually, producing only 12.8mt domestically. Of the imported balance, 85%-90% normally comes from Middle Eastern suppliers reliant on the Strait of Hormuz, now effectively closed since 1st March. The government's decision to prioritise domestic household LPG allocation, while logical from a social protection standpoint, has created a commercial supply vacuum that restaurants, hotels, hostels, and small businesses are now bearing.

The 10% increase in domestic LPG production since the government directive to maximise refinery output ,including Reliance Industries' commitment to ramp up LPG production at Jamnagar and the imminent arrival of alternative import supplies from outside the Middle East offer some medium-term relief. But for the restaurant-owner watching his cylinder run dry today, and the consumer joining a queue at the neighbourhood gas agency this morning, that relief feels distant.

The Assurance and the Queue

The government's position — that there is no shortage, that household delivery cycles are normal at 2.5 days, and that crude supply is fully secured through diversified routes — may well be accurate at the macro level. Supply chains are complex, and the mismatch between distributor-level confusion and central government data is not unusual in a crisis of this speed and scale.

But the queues outside gas agencies, the darkened restaurant kitchens, the IRCTC advisory, the Kerala chief minister's emergency appeal and the Delhi High Court canteen serving lunch without a main course — these are not rumours or panic. They are documented, visible and spreading.

The government has the data. The ground has the queues. Closing that gap, quickly and credibly, is now the test.

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