At Donne Biryani in Hyderabad’s SR Nagar, the crisis came with no warning. It slowly entered the dish, one at a time. By last Friday, chicken drumsticks, chilli prawns and mutton black pepper had disappeared from the menu. Kripalu was the first casualty to begin with. The franchise owner of the restaurant says, “We are a big restaurant and have limited stock of LPG cylinders. We have removed all starters and dry dishes from the menu to save gas.”

Pressure is also being felt on the temple kitchen. A notice was pasted in the Hanuman temple of Chikkadpally announcing a ban on cooking Prasad. Very few people would have imagined such a disruption, caused not by tradition but by depleting fuel supplies.

Uneasiness is widespread elsewhere too. When his phone rang at an odd hour, estate manager Vikram (name changed) was expecting the usual complaints about water, electricity or security in a gated community in western Hyderabad. Instead, he faced inquiries about piped gas stocks.

What is generally taken for granted, LPG has suddenly become a topic of discussion. The reason lies far beyond the city limits: conflict in West Asia is disrupting key sea routes that supply India’s LPG lifeline and meet a critical need. The disruption spread quickly, causing anxiety, frantic booking and systems struggling to keep pace with demand.

The government moved towards limiting domestic supply. Refineries were asked to prioritize propane and butane production for LPG and supply to public sector oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, with clear instructions to serve domestic consumers first. The flip side of this was immediate as commercial users were driven out.

The heat was felt first in restaurants, cloud kitchens, roadside kiosks, hostels and PG messes. Families followed suit, as panic bookings exceeded the capacity of the automated system.

Then prices jumped. Effective March 7, the price of a 19 kg commercial cylinder increased from ₹1,996.50 to ₹2,110.50, while domestic refills became costlier by ₹60, reaching ₹965.

For many bulk users such as hospitals, office canteens and industrial units, price increases are not unusual. But this time, it wasn’t just about paying more; It was about getting nothing at all. And in all kitchens, big and small, the question was no longer about what was being cooked, but how long the fuel would last.

The numbers tell their own story. According to official data, Telangana has around 1.29 crore domestic LPG connections served by over 800 distributors, with a daily requirement of around 2.05 lakh cylinders.

Of the total LPG usage in the state, 86% is consumed by households, leaving only 14% for commercial users – a relatively small share, but it sustains a vast network of businesses, including auto LPG.

According to an estimate, Telangana’s monthly commercial LPG requirement is around 8 lakh cylinders, typically 19 kg refills used by restaurants and wholesale kitchens, with other variants ranging from 2 kg to 425 kg for industrial use. According to data shared by oil marketing companies with the civil supplies department, the daily commercial demand in Hyderabad alone is around 23,000 cylinders.

For the city’s hospitality sector, which includes more than 74,000 restaurants, the pressure quickly turned from uncertainty to real disruption. What began as informal warnings from distributors soon turned into operational stress, service restrictions and, in some cases, temporary closures.

The Hyderabad chapter of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on March 12 met Civil Supplies Minister N. The letter to Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted the uncertainty in LPG availability and its implications for a sector that contributes an estimated ₹10,700 crore annually to the state economy while supporting thousands of livelihoods in restaurants, supply chains and delivery networks.

switch to wood

Even as the Center moved to partially restore supplies, giving priority to hospitals and hostels first, and later allowing up to 20% for other commercial users, relief has been limited. Underscoring the severity of the crisis, Sandeep Balasubramanian, head of NRAI Hyderabad chapter, says, “Most establishments are making do with whatever little supplies they have, while reliance on alternatives like wood fire and induction is increasing.”

But the shortage has also exposed flaws in the supply chain. Reports of black marketing emerged, including the suspicious repurposing of domestic cylinders for commercial use and the risky, illegal practice of filling gas from domestic to commercial cylinders. Enforcement agencies have stepped in and initiated action. In Hyderabad district alone, 643 domestic cylinders were seized last week by authorities in a crackdown on artificially created shortage.

Financial stress has further aggravated the crisis. “Till the end of February, the official price was around ₹1,700 to ₹1,750 per cylinder. Now it has increased to ₹2,100 to ₹2,200, and prices in the black market are three to four times higher,” says Mr Balasubramaniam.

Unlike domestic fuel, commercial LPG operates in a free-market space that is highly competitive, driven by volume discounts and credit-based supply arrangements. But with restrictions and supply tightening, these informal buffers have also collapsed. Public sector oil marketing companies withdrew concessions, suppliers became cautious and a system built on flexibility suddenly came under strain.

The Telangana State Hotels Association (TSHA) has warned that if the restrictions continue, the impact could go beyond menus – leading to temporary closures, job losses and disruption in food access for those who depend on eateries for their daily meals.

Highlighting the seriousness, Balasubramaniam cites the findings of an internal survey of 60 stakeholders – restaurant owners, bar operators and club representatives. The findings were clear: 42 described gas supply as ‘very poor’, while 16 said availability had fallen to less than half of what they needed. Yet, even amidst the tension, he strikes a measured note. “We are still in talks (with the Telangana government), but nothing has come out of those discussions yet,” he says.

Its impact can already be seen at the ground level. Some establishments have temporarily closed shops, others have cut back to lunch and dinner operations, while many are operating with staggered menus. Public notices announcing limited dishes and altered service have begun to appear across the city, a clear sign that the crisis has extended beyond backend supply concerns to visible operational disruptions.

At the smaller end of the spectrum, survival means improvement. At Rajan Food Corner, a modest Chinese food stall in AS Rao Nagar, a notice asks customers to pay ₹10 extra per order, though the owner says it is not mandatory. “There are many people who do not understand the situation and start arguing, so I tell them to pay only the menu rate if they want,” he says.

It’s a daily struggle for Rajan. Reiterating the plight of countless small vendors, he says, “We are getting cylinders, but with great difficulty.” With little scope to absorb rising costs, they have been forced to make careful adjustments – modest price increases on select items and reduced menus to save fuel. “We are increasing the prices of some items a little, not too much because customers will not accept it,” he said, adding that he is also limiting the number of dishes on the menu to manage fuel usage.

Customers have also started feeling the change. “Either the prices are increasing or the portions are getting smaller. I don’t mind paying a little extra, but it shouldn’t increase every few days,” says Karun, a 26-year-old IT employee, waiting for his order at Rajan’s stall.

However, some feared pressure. For example, a popular Punjabi restaurant in Gachibowli’s Indira Nagar had already started reducing its dependence on LPG by shifting parts of its central kitchen to electricity and relying on coal-fired tandoors – a move that now seems less like an experiment and more like a hedge against uncertain supply.

cascading effect

The strain is perhaps most visible in the hotel industry, where the dwindling supply of commercial cylinders – now issued only in limited quantities – has begun to impact operations.

But many manufacturing units in the textile processing and apparel, plastics as well as packaging industries are equally incurring losses, says R.Ravi Kumar, president of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FTCCI). He says the ripple effect extends to sectors such as steel, mining, glass and chemicals, where fuel availability and widespread supply disruptions linked to the war are exacerbating existing pressures.

Domestically, the crisis is marked by anxiety and urgency. Panic booking for domestic cylinders increased, placing heavy pressure on automated systems and leaving many consumers struggling to secure refills. Some people report waiting for a long time and attempting repeated bookings for 4-5 days before finally succeeding.

This, even as oil marketing companies continued to use social media to reassure customers that domestic supplies would be unaffected. The Telangana Civil Supplies Department also released data on refill deliveries, while officials in Delhi pointed to a recent surge in LPG production following instructions to give priority to domestic production. Yet, at the ground level, perception has proven harder to manage than supply due to availability as well as uncertainty.

time to learn, learn

Despite growing concerns, industry voices are urging restraint. Telangana LPG Distributors Association president Jagan Mohan Reddy warns that panic will lead nowhere except chaos, though he calls for a change in the way consumers view and use LPG. He advises that it is time to forget the idea that LPG is always available and learn to be less of a luxury, adding that consumption should reduce by 40-50%.

If conditions become more stringent, changes may be structural. The gap between household refills, which was recently extended to 45 days for rural consumers, may increase again – even to 60 days. In urban areas, where single-cylinder households are currently eligible for refill after 25 days and double-bottle consumers after 30 days, the waiting period may extend to 45 days.

There is also a possibility to reduce the cylinder weight to 10 kg, with prices adjusted proportionately from the standard 14.2-kg refill, subject to legislative changes.

For now, these possibilities remain, but the uncertainty is real. As Reddy sums it up, borrowing from a familiar line: “What we have seen so far are just headlines; the picture is still pending“