A war, between three countries, Iran, the US and Israel, is ongoing. Missiles and attacks are happening across them all and between allies. People around the world are scrambling as airspace is being shut down, trying to return home.
However, closer to home, India is currently experiencing one of the largest LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and oil supply crises in recent history.
This is affecting everyone, including citizens, hotel owners, restaurant owners, cafe owners, college canteens, and more.
People book their LPG cylinder refill. The app says it’ll take 25 days now, up from 21. At first, it’s no big deal. A week later, it still hasn’t come. People call the distributor. No answer. A neighbour says someone in your colony bought one for Rs. 2,500 cash from a guy on a bike. The official price is Rs. 913.
Somewhere in a parallel scene: a vendor in Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, has just raised the price of his samosas from Rs. 15 to Rs. 20. In Kolkata, some outlets of Bawarchi and Bhooter Raja, restaurants your parents have been going to for decades, have shut their doors. In Mumbai, 20% of hotels have temporarily closed.
Pune’s Vaikunth Dham, Maharashtra’s largest crematorium, has switched off all gas-powered furnaces to save fuel for households.
None of this is an accident. All of it traces back to a single narrow strip of water you probably never thought about before this week.
How Strait Of Hormuz Chokepoint Controls Your Kitchen
To understand why this crisis is hitting India so hard, one needs to learn about the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which at its narrowest point is just 33 kilometres wide. It doesn’t sound important.
But it is perhaps the single most strategically critical stretch of ocean on the planet. One-fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded globally moves through this channel every single day.
For India alone, approximately 90% of our LPG imports pass through it.
On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel began a series of strikes against Iran. Iran responded by blocking the Strait. Commercial shipping through the passage effectively stopped.
India, which imports 60% of its total LPG requirement and depends on the Gulf for the vast majority of that, suddenly had a gaping hole in its energy supply chain. India consumes approximately 31.3 million tonnes of LPG annually.
In January 2026 alone, the country produced 1.158 million tonnes domestically but consumed 2.192 million tonnes, nearly double.
The import shortfall was always being bridged by Gulf supply. That bridge is now, at best, severely damaged.
When Iran blocked the Strait, 33 crore Indian households felt it within days.
What Is Actually Happening On The Ground
The numbers that have emerged over the past two weeks are startling in their specificity.
Domestic LPG cylinder prices were hiked by Rs. 60 on March 7.
Commercial cylinders, the large 19-kg blue ones used by every restaurant, dhaba, cloud kitchen, and chaat stall, went up by Rs. 114.50 on the same day, following an earlier Rs. 28 hike on March 1. The total commercial LPG price increase in 2026 now stands at Rs. 302.50.
On March 12, the government announced a 20% cap on commercial LPG supply, meaning restaurants and hotels will receive just one-fifth of their normal monthly allocation.
Priority has been given entirely to domestic households, hospitals, and educational institutions. The restaurant industry was told to wait for a committee of oil company executives to review their case.
The black market moved faster than any committee. In Delhi, a domestic cylinder officially priced at Rs. 913 is now selling for Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,500 in many parts of the city. Commercial cylinders normally priced at Rs. 1,900 are being sold for Rs. 3,000 in Mumbai. A PG owner in northeast Delhi paid Rs. 6,400 for three cylinders through an unofficial vendor.
Amit Upadhyay, owner of a packaging unit in Ecotech-3 in Greater Noida, said: “When I checked the black market, a 19-kg cylinder that normally costs around Rs 1,900 is being sold for up to Rs 3,000.”
In Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, a tea seller said, “Earlier, we could refill just enough gas for a day at around Rs 85 per kg. Now they are asking nearly Rs 200 per kg. If we take five or six kg for the day, the cost becomes too high.”
The street food inflation is already visible. Samosas that were Rs. 15 are now Rs. 20. Tea prices are rising. Prasad, a small tea stall owner in Ambedkarnagar in Hyderabad, said, “The ₹10 tea is now ₹12, the ₹15 tea is now ₹20. The average increase is ₹5.”
Restaurant menus are being shortened. The Indane LPG Cylinder Distributors Association of West Bengal said it plainly: “The food industry is on the verge of collapse.”
Read More: What To Expect If The US Attacks Iran
Social media is full of Indians across the country posting about their experiences with this shortage, calling out the government, explaining what is happening, or using humour to get by during this stressful situation.
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The LPG shortage has hit various parts of the country extremely hard. Over 100 hotels in Kochi have closed, some have issued social media advisories, while Kerala’s Kannur is also facing the risk of closure. Not just hotels, but the entertainment industry, offices, and more are struggling with production halted and employees being sent on work from home (WFH) mode.
Vineeth Chandran, secretary of Prathidhwani, a welfare organisation of IT employees, said, “Over the past two days, the shortage of LPG has really begun affecting the functioning of the food courts and cafeterias. Some of the counters in the food courts stopped functioning yesterday (Thursday). The ones that are functioning are operating with minimal menu and are preparing only limited number of items. Although no company has yet taken a decision to completely shift to WFH, quite a few are likely to consider the prospect soon.”
According to LiveLaw, the Delhi High Court, the lawyers’ canteen in a notice dated March 11, 2026, wrote, “This is to respectfully inform you that due to the unavailability of the LPG gas cylinder at present, we regret that we are unable to prepare and serve the main course items in the Lawyers Canteen.”
Non-vegetarian dishes are the most affected, with restaurants taking meats like mutton and more off the menu for the time being. This is due to them taking longer to cook and thus using up more fuel than vegetarian dishes.
What The Government Is Doing
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), speaking with reporters, said that “LPG supply is an issue of concern for us, especially because a major chunk of imports route from Strait of Hormuz. Nevertheless, 25,000 distributors have not reported any dry out.”
She further added, “Cylinder bookings average 55.7 lakh refills from March 1 till date. However, data indicates booking requests peaked to 69 lakh refills on March 10, and 75.7 refills on March 12 because on panic booking behaviour.“
She also urged the public to switch to piped natural gas (PNG), saying, “India has 1.5 crore households being supplied piped natural gas with another 60 lakh households which can easily switch to piped cooking gas. Would urge consumers to consider switching so as to reduce the pressure on LPG.”
The Essential Commodities Act was invoked to ensure gas supply continuity. India’s Natural Gas Supply Regulation Order 2026 was issued on March 8, mandating 100% gas supply priority to domestic households.
Refineries have been ordered to increase LPG production; output jumped 15% within 72 hours of the directive.
India has increased its imports from non-Strait-of-Hormuz sources from 55% to 70% of total imports. Alternative supply talks are underway with Algeria, Australia, Canada, and Norway.
In the meantime, Indians are adapting. Induction cooker sales in Kolkata have risen 20 times in a week. Restaurants in Gurugram are switching from cloud kitchens to electric kitchens. Kolkata restaurant owners are considering coal. Mumbai dabbawallas have reportedly switched to firewood.
India is, as it always does, improvising.
India imports over 80% of its energy. The government has known for years that this dependence on Gulf supply through a single chokepoint is a structural vulnerability.
The 2021 National Energy Policy flagged it. Various energy security reports have flagged it. And yet, as of February 2026, 90% of India’s LPG imports were still flowing through a 33-kilometre passage controlled by a country now at war.
This crisis will likely ease in weeks. Alternative suppliers will be found. Domestic production will ramp up. The 20% cap on commercial supply will eventually lift. The restaurants will reopen.
But the question worth sitting with is not “when does the cylinder come back?” It’s “why were we this exposed to begin with, and what are we going to do about it before the next crisis?”
The Strait of Hormuz is 33 kilometres wide. India never thought much about it. It’s thinking about it now, standing in a queue at 5 AM, waiting for a gas cylinder that may not come.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Hindu, Deccan Herald, TOI
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
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