Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has asked the Union government to intervene in what he described as a deepening shortage of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Bengaluru, warning that the disruption is already forcing businesses to shut and could ripple across key sectors dependent on the city’s hospitality industry.
In a letter dated March 18 to Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri, the chief minister flagged the mismatch between supply and demand, particularly affecting restaurants, hotels and catering services. According to the letter, the city’s daily requirement stands at about 50,000 commercial cylinders, while supply has fallen to roughly 1,000 cylinders per day.
The shortfall, Siddaramaiah wrote, follows recent policy directions that have prioritised LPG distribution to domestic consumers. While acknowledging the importance of household supply, he cautioned that the shift has triggered unintended consequences for commercial users.
“As a result, there has been a visible increase in shutting down of establishments due to non-availability of commercial LPG,” he wrote.
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“This is beginning to impact the students, IT professionals, farmers, dairy producers along with a large section of the public which are dependent on the hospitality sector”, he wrote.
The letter frames the shortage not only as a business concern but as a broader economic disruption, affecting supply chains and daily life in the state capital. It also highlights difficulties faced by the transport sector, particularly auto-rickshaw drivers who rely on Auto LPG.
Siddaramaiah sought transparency in the distribution of fuel for commercial and transport use.
“While there is an existing IT system to monitor the domestic gas supply, there is no integrated platform available for monitoring the commercial supplies,” he noted. “Similarly… there is no integrated system to monitor the distribution of Auto LPG, which leads to lack of transparency and accountability.”
The CM called for immediate corrective measures, including improved allocation and monitoring mechanisms. Referring to expected national supply additions, he urged the Centre to prioritise Karnataka in upcoming distributions.
“I request your kind intervention to ensure adequate allocation and availability of commercial LPG and Auto LPG to Karnataka, keeping in view the operational requirements and unique dependency patterns of the State, specially city of Bengaluru,” the letter states.
The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has not yet publicly responded to the request and the copy will be updated whenever it is received.
