HYDERABAD: A shortage of commercial LPG cylinders in Hyderabad has begun impacting food delivery services, leaving thousands of gig workers struggling to maintain their daily earnings as several restaurants scale down operations.With limited supply of cooking gas, many eateries have either reduced their menus or temporarily stopped accepting online orders. This has led to a sharp drop in deliveries through platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy, directly affecting delivery partners who depend on daily trips for income.“Earlier I used to complete around 25 to 30 deliveries a day. Now I barely get 10 to 12 orders even after staying online for long hours,” said Ramesh Y, a delivery partner in the city. “Our earnings have almost been halved,” he added.Another rider, Mohd Imran, said many delivery partners are now spending hours waiting near restaurants in the hope of getting orders. “Sometimes we stay logged in for 10 to 12 hours, but there are hardly enough deliveries. Many hotels are simply not accepting orders,” he said.Restaurant owners said the LPG shortage has forced them to scale down operations. “We are operating with very limited gas cylinders. Because of this, we reduced our menu and prioritised dine-in customers,” said Kishore, a manager at a restaurant in Banjara Hills.The situation has also drawn the attention of gig worker groups. The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union said the shortage has significantly affected delivery partners’ livelihoods. According to them, there are about 4.2 lakh gig workers in Telangana, including those working with cab aggregators and other e-commerce platforms.Salauddin Sheikh, head of the union, said they are advising delivery partners to temporarily switch to other e-commerce, quick delivery, or bike ride services.“We are also writing to the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, requesting immediate intervention to ensure adequate supply of commercial LPG cylinders,” he said.
