‘No Gas, No Food, No Work’: Is India Staring At a Migrant Exodus Amid LPG Crisis?

India’s

metro cities are once again witnessing a familiar, unsettling sight - crowded railway stations, long queues at bus terminals, and migrant workers leaving with everything they own. A shortage of LPG cylinders, delays in refilling, and soaring black-market prices have made it difficult for low-income households to cook food, pushing many migrant workers to leave cities and head back home, a PTI report said.Also Read - The LPG Crisis: 4 Ways It Could End — And All 4 Are ComplicatedAcross Delhi-NCR, railway stations like Anand Vihar and New Delhi are seeing an unusual surge. Migrant workers can be seen carrying mattresses, utensils, and bags piled high on their shoulders - leaving behind jobs, routines, and fragile stability.

'Rs 3,000 Cylinder? How Do We Survive?'

For 38-year-old Radhey Sham, the decision to leave was not sudden, it was forced.A gig worker by day and a security guard by night, he struggled to support his family despite working multiple jobs. After repeated failed attempts to get an LPG cylinder, he decided to return to his village in Bithoor, Uttar Pradesh."Even after doing multiple jobs, I don't make more than ₹20,000. My wife works in nearby houses and adds another ₹5,000. I have two grown-up children to look after. Managing expenses has already been difficult. How can I afford ₹3,000 for an LPG cylinder? he told news agency PTI."I decided it's better to leave and save on rent. In the village, we can still cook on a chulha. Hopefully, things will improve in a month, and I'll be back," Shyam said in a broken voice.His story is not unique.

At New Delhi Railway Station, 29-year-old daily wager Suman Verma tried to hide his departure behind the excuse of a family wedding. But his son, Anshu, revealed the reality."We all know the real reason. A lockdown is about to happen. My father said all shops will shut and we won't be able to return later. We had already run out of gas, and my mother was cooking on a makeshift stove."The fear of another disruption, whether real or perceived, is driving many to leave early rather than risk being stranded.

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A Crisis of Cost and Access

The numbers explain the distress.A subsidised 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in Delhi currently costs around Rs 913. But for many migrant workers without formal connections, access has always depended on informal channels.Earlier, cylinders could be arranged at a premium of Rs 100–200. Now, the same cylinders are reportedly being sold for Rs 3,000 or more in the black market.Shortages of smaller 5-kg cylinders - often used by migrant households - have made matters worse.For workers like Vishnu Kumar, a 25-year-old cook from Kannauj, the crisis has collided with job loss."My employer himself wasn't sure if he could keep the business running. How could he keep me on the job? We were four people working under him, and now it's just the owner and one more."The rest of us, who aren't originally from the city, were asked to leave. It doesn't make sense to stay here without work. I'll go home, figure things out, and see if I can find a job there," he said.

‘The Last Straw’ for Many

For some, the LPG crisis has simply accelerated an inevitable decision.Om Prakash, who ran a small vegetable stall in Noida, had already been struggling with rising costs."The LPG was the last straw. We had to borrow an induction stove to cook. It became too difficult to live here. In the village, we can manage, eat, and sleep peacefully. It's not easy to leave after so many years, but this is better for us now," he said.Porters at railway stations confirm the trend."The New Delhi Railway Station is always crowded, but yes, there has been a noticeable surge lately. I talk to the people, the migrant labourers moving out with their families, and they say, 'lockdown hone wala hai.'"Most of them are leaving because of the LPG crisis. Their earnings are low, but expenses are high. Honestly, if things don't improve, even I'm thinking of leaving," said Jagdish, a porter from Madhya Pradesh.

What the Government Has Done So Far

The government has acknowledged the supply disruption and taken initial steps to ease the pressure.Amid global tensions linked to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for energy supplies, India has faced fuel supply constraints.To address the situation, the government has doubled the daily quota of market-priced 5-kg LPG cylinders, which are typically used by migrant workers and do not require formal connections.The move is aimed at improving availability and stabilising supply, but on the ground, many workers say access remains limited and prices unaffordable.For now, the migration appears scattered, not yet at the scale seen during Covid, but the signs are worrying.A mix of rising costs, job insecurity, and fear of future disruptions is once again pushing migrant workers out of cities.As one worker put it while boarding a train, the crisis is simple: no gas means no food — and without food, there is no reason to stay.The question now is whether this remains a slow trickle — or turns into another full-blown exodus.