Delhi, India – Abhishek Dixit’s restaurant has been serving stuffed flatbreads, relying on gas cylinders for more than a century. So that the stove remains warm and the customers can be fed.
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But those cylinders are in short supply as India’s liquefied petroleum gas imports face pressure from the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
“Even in the black market, there is no certainty whether I will get any gas or not,” said Dixit, 47, sitting outside his restaurant Paravathe Wala in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk market. “Everything is being affected, and our suppliers have raised prices by 5%.”
“This has created artificial inflation,” he said, forcing him to raise prices himself because of rising costs. While they have also invested in electric stoves in the hope of making their gas supply last longer.
At least there has been no apparent drop in quality. Paranthas, as the delicious flatbreads are called, stuffed with onions and cheese and coated with ample amount of butter, are as delicious as ever.
The effects of the war and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz were felt almost immediately in Asia, which depends heavily on oil and related product exports through the Gulf. The pain is acute in India, the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas after China, where millions of people depend on gas cylinders for cooking.
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Before the war more than 130 shipping vessels passed through the waterway daily. Traffic came to a halt when the conflict began, with no sign of large-scale shipping traffic resuming even after this week’s ceasefire announcement.
Adding to the sense of crisis, Many of the workers stranded on tankers in the Persian Gulf are Indians who are unable to return home.
Although the Indian government attempted to reassure people that there was adequate supply, queues at gas pumps and panic buying began in early March.
“I was also nervous,” said Dixit, whose restaurant depends on LPG cylinders to keep its operations running.
A large portion of that supply comes through the informal market, where prices have increased, he said, if there is availability at all. That additional spending is meant to pass the cost on to consumers.
Dixit is now charging 110 rupees ($1.20) for a typical paratha, up from 100 rupees before the war, underscoring how much the war is already impacting ordinary Indians.
A few feet away from Dixit’s restaurant is another restaurant famous for Rabdi, a sweet, condensed milk dessert.
On Friday afternoon, its third-generation owner, Utkarsh Sharma, sat behind a mostly empty counter of sweets, not because they were sold out, but because he couldn’t secure enough fuel to make more.
“I am facing the full impact,” said Sharma, 26. “All my work depends on these cylinders.”
Their production has fallen by about 40% since the war began, while their costs have increased by a third. “I can’t maintain these prices for long,” he said, adding that he would have to raise his prices within a few weeks.
Fuel prices have historically been a sensitive matter for the Indian government, which has implemented emergency measures in recent weeks to mitigate the impact, including redirecting supplies to emergency services such as hospitals.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has compared the crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the country was dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for key essential commodities, including fertilizers.
New Delhi welcomed the ceasefire, saying the war “has already caused enormous suffering to people and disrupted global supply and trade networks.”
“We hope that unhindered freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce will be maintained through the Strait of Hormuz,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
A block away from the street where Dixit and Sharma operate their business, Vinay Chauhan stood behind his street food stall preparing for the day.
“I’m just borrowing gas from my neighbors and trying to ration it,” he said while gently stirring oil in a large, shallow frying pan. “The cylinder I am using now is the same cylinder I use at home,” he said.
Their signature dish, the popular snack bread cheela, made by lightly frying bread in gram flour, naturally uses less fuel than some dishes. “It cooks slowly from the heat of the pan,” he said.
Officials, well aware of the dependence of price-sensitive consumers on LPG, are pushing consumers to switch to piped natural gas, including through door-to-door campaigns. India’s oil ministry said in a statement that the country added more than 320,000 new PNG connections in March statement.
Anita Devi has nine people in her family and has not been able to get a gas cylinder for a month. She heard about the pressure from officials for pipe connections, and on Friday, she was waiting outside the gas supplier’s office to inquire about her turn.
“I am really worried about the gas supply,” said Devi, 45.
She is hopeful that she will get a pipe connection soon but fears that prices will also increase if the war continues.
“I know how to cook on wood. If prices go up, that’s what we will do,” he said.
