Delhi: Street food vendors across Delhi are facing uncertainty asLPG supplies tighten amid the West Asia conflict, triggering panic bookings, rising prices
and fears of business shutdowns. The widening conflict in West Asia is beginning to affect the daily operations of Delhi’s vast street food economy. Thousands of small businesses, including tea stalls, momo vendors, dhabas, tandoor outlets and roadside Chinese food stalls, depend heavily on LPG cylinders for cooking. Now, many vendors say tightening supplies and rising prices are threatening their ability to keep their stalls running. Concerns have grown as disruptions in global energy supplies and shipping routes have started affecting the availability of cooking gas in India. The Centre has already prioritised domestic LPG supply to households, raising worries among small vendors who rely on commercial cylinders.
Small Vendors Most Vulnerable
Unlike large restaurants, most roadside eateries keep only limited LPG stock and depend on frequent refills. Even a short delay in cylinder supply can disrupt their daily business.
Roshan Kumar Yadav who run his brother tea stall in Noida sector 16 said that he had only limited amount of LGP left today. His another friend went to buy cylinder for today on which his fate depends.
He said, " We are not getting Cylinder in black as well, Cylinder prices are as high as 3100. If i do not get cylinder today then i will have to stop making tea until situation stablises and only other packaged food will be available".
Vendors Forced to Use domestic Cylinders
At a tea stall in Lajpat Nagar, R K Pathak who hails from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh stood beside a small stove balanced on a 15-kg domestic LPG cylinder, an illegal but common workaround in the informal sector where commercial cylinders are considered too expensive, as per Times of India report.
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"Business slows down from the beginning of summer as more people have cold drinks instead of tea," Pathak said. "On top of that, if gas becomes dearer, we will be directly hit. We can't hike the price of tea. Who will buy it then?"
Pathak said he has only one cylinder left, which he estimates will last three to four days.
"If prices keep rising, how will we manage? As it is, we have to pay govt officials to keep our stalls running," he said.
Panic Bookings Create Rush
The situation has also triggered panic booking of LPG cylinders across parts of Delhi. Fearing shortages, many households have rushed to book cylinders, leading to long queues at distribution centres and a sudden spike in demand.
Several distributors say the rush has created temporary pressure on local supply networks.
(With Inputs from PTI)
