LPG Supply Crisis Reaches Home: Campus, Dining, Vendors Feel the Trouble

On 26 March, Abbas Aragchi, the Foreign Minister of Iran, stated that India will be one of five countries allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing India to import LPG from the Middle East.  However, issues in dining and food outlets at Ashoka persist. 

The Edict has been interviewing owners of food outlets on campus since mid-March to gauge the difficulties that all of them have been facing.

On March 11, Mr Himanshu Sachdev, Vice President (Operations), emailed the student body regarding growing concerns about food availability on campus amid the war being waged in West Asia by the United States and Israel against Iran. 

This conflict has reduced naval traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting gas supply across Asia. India has been affected by this disruption as well, forcing the government to reallocate gas quotas towards domestic use, leaving commercial cylinder users stranded.

All campus food outlets have lost their continued supply of gas cylinders, with many of them switching to induction stoves. Those running primarily on induction stoves such as GreenNox, Healthy Nook, Chai24, etc., have been largely unaffected.

Vendors

Most outlets have been forced to cut down their menus by ~60%. The Campus Life Ministry (CLM) was unable to comment at the time of publication, owing to a lack of information from the vendors, although an email was sent out by them on March 26 stating that while outlets had to cut down menu options, "The Mess, Binge N Bite, 2 To Tango, and Healthy Nook will continue to be fully operational."  

Maharani Palani, the manager at Dosai, said that they had to resort to purchasing cylinders from resellers who were selling them at a price of Rs 4000 per cylinder. Previously, the average cost for a 19 kg market gas cylinder was Rs 1800 in Delhi. 

Neighbouring outlets have also expressed a similar sentiment, with none having an adequate supply of cylinders. Mr. Kuldeep, the manager at Shudh Desi Dhaba (‘Dhaba’), in an interview with The Edict, said that they used to go through nearly four cylinders per day before the disruption. “Now, we barely have one cylinder to run on. We have had to cut down our menu, including our best sellers like Honey Chilli Potato and Jalebis.” A majority of their operational workload has shifted to induction stoves, which has become another cause for concern – “Using induction stoves is difficult given the nature of the food we make here, and it will also add on to the electricity bills," he continued. Additionally, a representative from The Hunger Cycle added that they haven’t received gas cylinders from their vendors for 3 weeks and are working with unofficial suppliers at 3 times the standard price. 

The administration rejected requests from outlets seeking price flexibility. Sandeep Rathee, the owner of Fuel Zone, stated that outlets would likely incur heavy losses by purchasing cylinders through unofficial means and that increasing product prices marginally would fall short of covering those losses. He stated that his outlet will not be removing items from its menu or increasing prices despite issues with procuring cylinders.  He insisted that his goal was to keep prices the same since he wanted his products to remain affordable to students receiving financial aid or scholarships. 

Measures Taken/Responses: 

Many outlets have also had to spend money out of pocket to procure induction stoves and compatible utensils. Ms. Palani told The Edict in an interview that she had spent over Rs. 30,000 on procuring multiple induction stoves. “Our cylinder supplier isn’t sure of his own supply restock — we have to take safety precautions to prevent shutting down,” she said. She insisted that it was getting more difficult to break even.

Upon being approached by The Edict regarding this situation, the administration officials in the Operations team stated that “they were managing the situation” over the phone. The only instance of communication between them and the food outlets was to enquire about their menus, as all interviewed vendors have told The Edict. 

The Bigger Picture:

The Edict also approached International Relations Professor Dr. Amit Julka to get a picture of what the future holds. In an interview conducted on March 19, he stated, “The LPG that we are currently using is the stock that was imported right before the conflict began. This stock should last us until around the end of March, after which we will really bear the brunt of this shortage.”

Dr. Julka also expressed concerns about the surge in the usage of induction stoves due to the impact it will have on the country’s power grid. “We’re back to square one in this situation because a good chunk of the power generation industry also uses the same fuel that we are facing the shortage of.” 

Despite India’s exemption from the maritime barricade in the Strait of Hormuz, Ashoka's dining vendors will have to balance a complex new logistical reality, as the aftershocks of the sudden LPG supply shortage will continue to linger for the foreseeable future.

[With inputs from Tanush Guha]

[Edited by Tanisha Pandey and Tanush Guha]