Kolkata: The ongoing LPG crisis has impacted several home-based tiffin and food delivery businesses in the city. Several food service providers are now having to either curtail their business or suspend the operations completely. This has affected the lives of people, who depend on these service providers. Paying guests, mainly youngsters engaged in the service sector, and students, are facing the worst crisis. “I have informed my customers that I can no longer give them cooked meals. If I cook food for them, I may not be able to do the same for my family. I will again start the business once the LPG supply returns to normal,” said Tapashi Seal, a homemaker from Jadavpur. Others are taking up alternative cooking methods. Srirupa Ghosh, 45, who operates a home delivery service in Bijoygarh, said she has turned to induction cooking. For 50-year-old Babli Chakraborty, who provides a food delivery service in Bikramgarh, it has been equally challenging. Her LPG cylinder was used up and she had to pause the service. However, she was able to get it refilled after a week, and resumed her business. She also faced difficulties in preparing meals at home. Many of her clients — office-goers and college students — had been financially hit as the affordable tiffin service was off for a while. Larger set-ups of food delivery businesses have felt the heat equally, with manycurtailing their menu to keep themselves afloat.
