From weddings to funerals, Iran war has hit life in India

In the last two weeks, Dhruv Chakravarty estimates that his catering company has suffered a loss of Rs 7 lakh-Rs 8 lakh due to cancellations following the shortage of liquefied petroleum. His family’s Vastavika Caterers in South West Delhi caters weddings, birthdays and corporate events. Chakravarty has had to cancel new bookings due to the severe shortage of commercial cylinders without which it is impossible to cater for weddings.

“We are hoping this ends soon, or it will be a problem,” said Chakravarty. “We had good business during Holi but now with Eid coming up, we are not sure.” Several other caterers have cancelled events or postponed bookings till April, he said.

India depends on the supply of natural gas from shipments through the narrow Strait of Hormuz in West Asia, which has been closed since the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28. The war on Iran has disrupted the supply of oil as well.

A catering manager based in Vasai, Mumbai, who did not want to be identified, said at least two-three customers had postponed their wedding bookings. “The situation is just like Covid-19,” he said, referring to how the pandemic had shut down economic and business activities through 2020 and 2021.

“We are sitting idle with no work,” the man said. “No one is able to do any business and everyone’s business is shut.”

When asked about using alternatives to LPG, he said “You can’t change technology in two days. Alternatives like electric cooktops take time to set up.”

Nishank Bhadouriya of Hari Ram Caterers in Delhi said has been trying to get by with his old stock of cylinders. Even so, Badoria said caterers were lucky that the crisis has not hit in the middle of the wedding season. “During the months of May and June we do not get as many wedding bookings,” he said. “Otherwise we would have had to face a huge loss had this happened during November-December.”

Another Delhi-based caterer, who did not wish to be identified, was worried about gas cylinders being hoarded and sold on the black market. “The uncertainty of how long this war will go on has pushed many people to start hoarding which has worsened the issue,” he said.

Caterers Scroll spoke also said that in desperation, some have asked their customers to bring their own domestic cylinders, even though that is illegal.

The government has prioritised gas supply for domestic use, leading to shortages elsewhere. In Pune, crematoriums are managing with the available gas supply but may have to switch to wood, reported The Indian Express. “Right now, we still have some gas left with us. If the gas runs out, then we will have to use wood,” Sumit Giri, a crematorium operator in Bopodi told The Indian Express.

In Kerala, the Kozhikode civic body’s crematorium had to refuse three bookings on Tuesday after it ran out of gas, reported Manorama. The crematorium needs 120 commercial cylinders per month, using nearly four per day. Bharat Petroleum, the crematorium’s supplier, has been unable to provide cylinders, a health inspector told Manorama.

But as Bhadouriya observed, restaurants, dhabas and roadside food vendors are the worst hit. Small-scale food joints and tiffin services, often feed poor migrant workers, while keeping costs low.

In Mumbai, one tiffin service could only offer rice and pickle while another had to buy chapatis at Rs 5 each, driving up costs. Elsewhere, like in Ranchi, one stall owner said they had to cut down the menu to basic meals. Owners of a homestay, meanwhile, were, considering earthen, wood-fired ovens.

Meals outside a hospital

For the last three days, Debojit Senapati in Guwahati has been struggling to get a cooking gas cylinder to keep his rice stall open. Patients and their relatives depend on Senapati’s affordable meals, up to Rs 60 a plate, at his food joint outside the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, the region’s biggest hospital.

“I got one domestic cylinder yesterday [Wednesday] which cost more than double at Rs 1,800,” he told Scroll. Senapati said he needs at least one cylinder per day. “There is no cylinder today. I have already shut my stall in the afternoon today.”

The Assam Police on March 12 said strict legal action will be taken against anyone spreading “rumours” about a shortage of cooking gas and other petroleum products. “But there is a shortage of gas,” said Senapati. “We are looking for all kinds of gas – domestic and commercial supply. But it is nowhere to be found.”

For the last 11 years, Senapati has depended on income from his stall to feed his family of five and pay Rs 8,000 as rent for his home. “We have an income of hardly Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 per day,” he said. “It will be difficult to manage if it continues for many days.”

Five workers depend on Senapati as well, earning Rs 300-Rs 400 per day. “If I don’t get gas for the next two days, I have to send them back to their village in Upper Assam,” he said.

Mumbai’s migrant workers

Mumbai’s huge population of migrant workers, who keep the city running, is paying more for food or even going hungry. At a construction site in Tilak Nagar, many workers live on the premises or the streets.

“Yesterday I slept without eating anything,” said Vimlesh Yadav, a security guard at a residential building. “Today I went to a restaurant around the corner. They only had rice and achaar to serve.”

Kamlesh Yadav, a guard at a construction site nearby, cooks his own food using a stove and a five-kg gas cylinder, which he buys for Rs 500 every month. Five days ago, Yadav ran out of gas and has been eating out. His expenses have suddenly more than doubled. “Now it’s costing me Rs 80 per thali,” he said.

Yadav, who earns Rs 17,000 a month, said he could manage his food, including the cylinder and rations, within Rs 2,000. If the shortage continues, he could end up paying Rs 4,800 a month.

Messes and tiffin services, which provide affordable food to the city’s working-class population, are struggling to keep costs low. Naresh Yadav’s tiffin service in Siddharth Colony feeds 100 labourers, security guards and daily wage workers every day. He needs a 23-kg gas cylinder every month.

“Last Saturday, I ran out of gas and could not find a cylinder anywhere,” he said. “I have tried reaching out to multiple suppliers but nobody has stock.”

Naresh Yadav said he sold meals at discounted rates because he was serving poor workers. But on Thursday, he was forced to buy chapatis from another supplier at Rs 5 per piece. “But many cannot afford this,” he said. When an entire meal costs Rs 50, paying Rs 30 for just six chapatis is a lot.

Cutting down menus

In Ranchi, Pawan Tamang has cut down the extensive menu of his Royal Momos food stall to just three dishes – chowmein, chilly chicken and momos. “Customers are upset about the limited menu, but we are trying to use cooking gas efficiently,” said Tamang, whose stall needs two to three gas cylinders a week – he buys 19-kg commercial cylinders which cost Rs 2,000 each.

“We’re down to our last one and we haven’t been able to procure more,” he said.

Tamang and his family of six run the stall, “When business is good we earn about Rs 15,000- Rs 20,000 in a week,” he said. “But now with this gas crisis we are wondering how we will survive.” Induction stoves were an option, said Tamang, but he is unsure of how reliable they will be since Ranchi faces several electricity cuts due to power cuts in the summers.

Sunita Dutta, who runs a tiffin service in Ranchi, is also down to her last gas cylinder, which will run out in the next 10 days. “I make tiffin for about 120 people daily, so we use two to three big cylinders in a month,” she said. She will turn to an extra gas cylinder at home – as long as that lasts.

Dutta has the safety net of her family’s income but depends on the tiffin service for her financial independence. “The government really needs to do something,” she said. “There are a lot of small business owners like me who will be impacted badly if this gas crisis extends.”

Two hours away in Khunti, Kapil Toppo, who runs a village farm stay, plans to turn to an earthen, wood-fired stove. “We host between 10-30 customers in a week so we require three to four gas cylinders in a month,” said Toppo.

When the farm stay was constructed, Toppo had built clay stoves as an afterthought, but never used them. Many residents of rural Jharkhand still rely on firewood and coal for cooking, said Toppo. These might be the only options if the LPG crisis continues, he said. “But these are also very polluting alternatives.”