‘We cook once a day’: How Karnataka low-income households are changing food habits amid LPG shortage

Meals for her family have been reduced to a minimum. “We cook only once a day now, and not many items,” she adds.

Ratna, a cook, says her family alternates between LPG and firewood to stretch limited supplies. “It takes 20 days or more to get a cylinder. So we use gas for a few days, then switch to wood,” she says.

Even booked cylinders arrive unpredictably, with delivery delays ranging from 10 to 30 days.

Reshaping food habits

As the West Asia conflict stretches into its third month, the impact is being felt far beyond commercial establishments, with low-income families and migrant workers among the worst affected.

For migrant labourers without LPG connections, refilling small cylinders was routine until the shortage hit. Others are forced to constantly adjust.

A migrant worker near Hoskote says he now relies on one-pot meals when hunger becomes unavoidable. “The small shops I used to eat from have shut down because they can’t afford gas anymore. Now I have to find other ways to eat,” he says.

The shortage is also reshaping food habits. Fuel-intensive dishes have disappeared from kitchens, and most households no longer cook multiple meals a day.

‘Everything runs on wood’

The situation is similar in rural parts of the state. In Marigowdana Hundi, a village in Mysuru district and part of Varuna Assembly segment represented by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the only eatery is now fully dependent on firewood.

Its owner, Mahadeva, says he is now totally dependent on wood fire. “After the LPG shortage, in the black market they are demanding Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 for a LPG cylinder. I cannot afford it,” he says.

While restaurants in urban areas have raised prices and trimmed menus, citing a shortage of LPG cylinders, Mahadeva has tried to maintain both. “I haven’t cut down my menu. We still serve breakfast and lunch, but now we depend entirely on wood,” he adds

To keep the business going, his family spends hours each week collecting firewood from nearby vacant land. “We used to need one cylinder every three days. Now everything runs on wood,” he says.

While summer makes it easier to find dry wood, he worries about the monsoon. “If this continues into the rains, we don’t know how we’ll manage.”

Concerns over LPG supply have grown as cargo shipments remain delayed in the Persian Gulf. However, the government has maintained that there is no shortage.

On Monday, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said the country has adequate LPG supplies and no distributor is facing a dry-out. Sharma added that 93 per cent of cylinder deliveries are being carried out through OTP verification.

(Neysa Mary is an intern with The Indian Express)