Indian migrant workers flee urban centers amid acute cooking‑gas shortages

Daily search turns into a waiting game

Every morning, Shakuntala Devi and Shakiba Bibi leave their modest dwelling in a Delhi slum and walk from one shop to another seeking a cooking‑gas cylinder.

For three weeks now, Shakuntala Devi and Shakiba Bibi return home empty‑handed.

“If it continues like this for a few more days, Shakuntala Devi and Shakiba Bibi will run out of gas in the kitchen and will have to return to the villages,” Shakuntala Devi says.

Shakuntala Devi, Shakiba Bibi and many neighbours who join the cylinder hunt work as domestic helpers in middle‑class neighbourhoods near the slum, earning roughly fifteen thousand rupees a month. The families of Shakuntala Devi, Shakiba Bibi and their neighbours migrated to Delhi from villages in Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar over the past decade.

Geopolitical tension squeezes LPG supplies

The disruption to global shipments caused by the war in the Middle East has strained cooking‑gas supplies in India. Many people across India find it difficult to obtain Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders, the most widely used cooking fuel in India.

India depends heavily on LPG imports, much of which reach India through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow, critical shipping route affected by the conflict. Although Iran now permits Indian vessels to pass, the situation remains uncertain and several ships wait near the strait for clearance.

The government says there is no shortage of LPG, that the government is ramping up domestic production and that the government is securing more supplies from the United States, Russia and Australia. The government has also asked people to stop “panic ordering” of gas cylinders.

Nevertheless, migrant workers in large Indian cities, many of whom rely on informal networks to purchase cooking gas, express deep concern.

Voices from the field

The Gree spoke to nearly thirty migrant workers in Delhi who said they would have to return to their villages if the situation does not improve.

News reports and visuals of crowded railway stations and bus terminals suggest a similar situation in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, where large numbers of migrant workers live and work. In some areas, shutdowns in industries such as textiles, jewellery and ceramics have also forced workers to return home.

People who have left say they are watching the situation closely to decide when they can return.

“There was no cooking gas available. Even local restaurants were shut. Ashok Yadav was struggling to eat two meals a day, so Ashok Yadav had to return home,” Ashok Yadav told the Gree over the phone from the village of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Ashok Yadav had worked in a catering firm in Delhi.

Last month, the government asked refineries to prioritise gas distribution for households over businesses. This forced many small restaurants to trim their menus or temporarily shut down because they could not afford commercial gas cylinders.

The shortage is also pushing some people towards more polluting fuels such as firewood, kerosene and coal.

Sushila Devi, who runs a small tea shop in a bustling market in Delhi, says Sushila Devi has been using firewood for both the shop and the home.

“Sushila Devi has not been able to get a gas cylinder for nearly four weeks,” Sushila Devi says. “The price of firewood is rising quickly, and firewood is not a long‑term option anyway. If the gas shortage continues, Sushila Devi will have to return to the village in Uttar Pradesh.”

Neighbour Pushpa Devi says at least Pushpa Devi “will not starve” in the village because Pushpa Devi can share meals with relatives.

Potential economic impact

Experts say the situation is “manageable” at present.

“But if this reverse migration continues, it will have a significant impact, especially on micro, small and medium enterprises, particularly in labour‑intensive sectors such as construction, textiles and manufacturing,” says Arvind Goel, co‑chairman of the industrial relations committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

According to India’s last census, India had fifty‑four million inter‑state migrants, but analysts say the actual number is much higher and would have increased manifold in the years since then. The latest census, much delayed, has just begun.

Why LPG access is problematic for migrants

For many of these workers, access to cooking gas was already complicated. To obtain LPG cylinders legally in India, households and businesses must register for a connection using identity and address documents, and book cylinders in advance through authorised distributors.

Migrants who work in the informal sector often do not have the right documents in the cities where they live.

“Migrants relocate frequently and cannot keep updating documents. Some landlords also refuse to provide proof of address, so getting formal documents in the cities where migrants relocate often becomes difficult,” says Rajesh Kumar, a trade unionist in Delhi.

Many of these workers rely on informal, often unregulated centres that sell and refill cylinders smaller than the standard fourteen point two kilogram size.

Since the war began, many of these centres have shut down, while others charge nearly four times the usual price – around three thousand five hundred rupees for regular household cylinders and more than one thousand six hundred rupees for refilling the smaller ones.

“Most migrants with meagre earnings cannot afford to pay so much,” says Rajesh Kumar.

Limited alternatives add to the difficulties.

Cooking with firewood or coal is unsafe in cramped rooms in slums. Shared electricity connections in such houses cannot support cheaper electric stoves, and safer electric stove models are too expensive.

Hard choices and personal stories

For some people, the uncertainty has already forced hard decisions.

Ramnaresh Yadav sold Ramnaresh Yadav’s autorickshaw two weeks ago before returning to the village near Chhapra in Bihar.

These personal narratives illustrate how a shortage of cooking‑gas cylinders can ripple through households, small businesses and entire sectors of the Indian economy.

Overall, the shortage of LPG cylinders continues to test the resilience of migrant workers, small‑scale entrepreneurs and urban dwellers who depend on reliable, affordable cooking fuel. The government’s efforts to secure additional supplies and increase domestic production remain under close scrutiny, while informal market dynamics and the broader geopolitical climate shape daily realities for millions of people across India.