LPG crisis hits restaurants as online food delivery demand rises daily

Palakkad: The ongoing shortage of cooking gas cylinders in Palakkad has significantly affected restaurants, bakeries and small food businesses, while at the same time driving a surge in online food delivery orders. Residents are increasingly turning to online platforms to manage limited cooking gas at home, leading to a sharp rise in demand for prepared food.

Food delivery companies in the district said they are receiving around 15 percent more orders than usual as households try to conserve their LPG cylinders. Earlier, delivery platforms handled around 3,000 to 4,000 orders per day on average. However, the sudden spike in demand has created operational challenges.

More than 200 hotels in Palakkad are connected to online food delivery platforms. But due to the shortage of cooking gas, many of these establishments have reduced the quantity of food they prepare and limited the number of dishes available on their menus. In several cases, when a restaurant runs out of food items, delivery platforms have to add other hotels to the options list to fulfil customer orders.

The disruption has also exposed another challenge — a shortage of delivery personnel and reduced operations in many hotels. This has made it difficult for food delivery companies to keep up with the increased demand from customers.

The cooking gas crisis has also impacted the bakery sector in the district. According to Syed Fahim, district president of the Bakery Owners’ Association, around 20 percent of small bakeries have temporarily shut down due to the shortage. Bakeries require LPG to prepare items such as puffs, cutlets and masala biscuits. Many units that produce and supply baked goods to local shops have halted operations, affecting the livelihoods of workers in the sector.

For small food vendors, the shortage has forced a return to older cooking methods. H. Afsal, who runs a small tea shop in Mattummantha, said he had to start using a kerosene stove again after gas cylinders became unavailable.

“When I started this tea shop 40 years ago, I used a kerosene stove. Later, gas stoves replaced them. But now, since gas is not available, I have gone back to using kerosene stoves for the past three days,” he said.

Afsal added that he purchased two kerosene stoves for about Rs 1,400 to continue running his shop until gas cylinders become available again. While he currently has some kerosene left, he worries that supplies may not last long if the LPG shortage continues.

Some food vendors have also begun using wood-fired stoves to keep their businesses running. However, many say these are only temporary solutions, and operations will remain uncertain unless regular gas cylinder supplies resume soon.

The LPG shortage has therefore created a ripple effect across Palakkad’s food industry, affecting restaurants, bakeries, delivery services and small vendors alike while also pushing consumers to depend more on online food orders.