LPG shortage hits Pune’s Zomato, Swiggy food delivery partners: ‘Earnings dropped from Rs 1,600 to Rs 600 in three days’

Kamble is one of thousands of food delivery workers in Pune who are bearing the brunt of an acute commercial LPG shortage that has forced several restaurants and eateries to either shut down or significantly cut back operations over the past few days.

Orders dry up

The ripple effect of the gas shortage has been swift and visible. With fewer restaurants operational or running at reduced capacity, the pool of available delivery orders on platforms like Swiggy and Zomato has shrunk sharply.

Lucky Ade, who delivers in Hinjewadi, said, “Around eight to nine eateries in the area have shut following the LPG crunch. I used to complete 30-34 orders in 10 hours. Since Tuesday, even working 13 hours, I’ve managed only around 20 orders a day,” he said. His daily earnings have fallen from approximately Rs 1,800 to Rs 850.

Ade also flagged a fairness concern on the platforms themselves. “Some partners are getting enough orders, while others are getting very few. There should be some parity in how orders are distributed,” he said.

Sagar Deokar, who works out of Narayan Peth, said the drop in orders and income has been similar for him. “My entire family – my wife, my son and daughter – are dependent on me. My children are in junior and senior KG. Paying their school fees is going to become very difficult if this continues for long,” he said. Deokar added that delivery partners on both Swiggy and Zomato are equally affected.

Restaurants scaling back, menus shrinking

Industry voices confirm that the shortage is worsening by the day. Speaking to The Indian Express, Saili Jahagirdar, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) Pune chapter, said, “The impact on food delivery orders was already being felt from Tuesday, with the situation deteriorating further as the day progressed.”

“Many small eateries, bakeries, and snack joints have already shut down shutters, while several others are running at roughly half their usual capacity. Slow-cooked dishes, which require continuous gas use, are being quietly dropped from menus to conserve remaining supply,” she said.

Jahagirdar further added that tandoor-based items like naan and roti are also at risk, since gas-fired tandoors cannot function without a steady supply. “Larger restaurants and hotels, too, are beginning to feel the strain, with some orders going unfulfilled because kitchens simply cannot keep up,” she said.

With no fresh LPG stock arriving, Jahagirdar warned that many kitchens could run completely dry within a couple of days.

The human cost

Unlike salaried employees, platform workers are paid per order, meaning fewer restaurant operations directly translates to reduced take-home pay, with no fallback. Many of these workers are sole breadwinners whose families live in rural Maharashtra – in Vidarbha, Marathwada, Kolhapur, and other parts of the state. For them, even a few lean days can put real pressure on household finances back home.