Restaurants and hotels in cities in India, like Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and many other parts, are currently facing a commercial LPG crisis. There is a severe shortage of commercial LPG cylinders due to the rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia. This might lead to service disruption, paring down of the menu, or even closure of these and other 50 to 60 percent of eateries in the country in the upcoming days. Here’s everything you must know about the current hospitality sector crisis.
LPG Cylinder Crisis
Eateries in India Face LPG Cylinder Crisis
Bengaluru’s iconic vegetarian tiffin restaurant, Vidyarti Bhavan, is currently staring at a shutdown due to LPG supply shortage. They have issued a notice informing the customers about their newly enforced menu limitations and revised timings for certain dishes, starting March 10.
About 20% od Mumbai’s restaurants and hotels have already declared closure due to the cooking gas supply distribution. The Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association on Tuesday also warned that up to 50 per cent of hotels in the city could shut down within the next two days if the situation does not improve.
Several eateries in Pune, like bakeries, restaurants, and hotels, have already shut down or cut their operations temporarily. The Chennai Hotels Association has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the ongoing closure of restaurants. They have requested an uninterrupted supply of commercial LPG under essential commodities for the food industry.
Apart from these, many restaurants, hotels, and small eateries in Karnataka, Delhi, rajasthan and some parts of Maharashtra too are on the verge of shutting down. According to Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), this might lead to the forced shutdown of 50 to 60 percent (about 5 lakh) restaurants in India.
Reason Behind The LPG Cylinder Shortage
The ongoing Iran-Israel-US conflict has led to severe disruption of the shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. India imports over 60% of its LPG, and about 85–90% of this passes through this region. The conflict has affected major supply chain distributions, impacting availability for both domestic and commercial consumers.
The price of a 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder in Mumbai as of March 10, has increased to INR 912.50. This has led to a nationwide price hike. The price of commercial (19 kg) cylinders in Mumbai are currently priced at INR 1,836.
Government’s Action On The Current Situation
To cater to the current situation, the central government invoked the Essential Commodities Act 1955 on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. According to this law, the government is allowed to control “essential” items like petroleum products during shortages. Under Section 4 of this act, restaurants are entitled to receive supplies as an essential service.
The government order from March 10 has asked the gas marketing entities to make sure that the supply through the national gas grid to industrial consumers is maintained at eighty percent of their past six-month average gas consumption based on their operational availability.
Summing Up
The restaurant industry India offers direct employment to about 8 million Indians. It is the third largest contributor after the retail and insurance industries, hence the impact of the LPG shortage might result in a domino effect on various sectors of the economy as well.
