Ludhiana: The rhythmic clatter of spatulas and the hiss of high-pressure burners have fallen silent across the city as a debilitating shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cripples its iconic dining culture.From high-street restaurants to the heritage “dhabas” (roadside eateries) of Railway Road, small business owners are being forced to abandon traditional menus and switch to primitive fuels to survive a crisis that has seen black-market prices for gas cylinders soar to ₹4,000. The shortage is not just changing how food is cooked, but what is being served.At many establishments, the selection is now dictated by fuel efficiency rather than customer preference. “I have completely stopped making pizzas,” said one eatery owner in Field Ganj. “A single oven would burn through a cylinder in 36 hours. I’ve shifted entirely to steaming momos — it’s the only way to keep the pilot light on.”For others, the situation is even more dire. Vinod Singh, 68, who has operated his family dhaba on Railway Road for five decades, has been forced to cut his menu from nine varieties of paranthas to just one offering: tea. “I have been here since I was 14,” Vinod Singh said, noting that six of his staff have resigned this month as work dried up. “Nothing else is possible because cylinders are simply not available.”A retreat to alternative fuelsTo bypass the broken supply chain, a growing number of operators are retrofitting their kitchens with diesel-fired “bhattis,” coal-based “chulhas,” and wood-fired stoves. While these alternatives allow kitchens to remain open, they come with a significant physical and financial toll.Business owners Pawan Sethi and Kunwar Sodhi report a 20% to 30% surge in operational costs due to the inefficiency of coal and diesel. Alternative fuels require more preparation time and constant monitoring compared to the flick of a gas switch. Owners have so far absorbed the costs to avoid driving away customers, but many warn that a general hike in food prices is now “unavoidable.”Desperation and Black MarketsWhile the official administrative channels offer a trickle of relief — some owners have secured 5-kg cylinders after petitioning the deputy commissioner’s office — most remain at the mercy of a burgeoning black market. “We cannot afford cylinders in the black at ₹4,000,” said dhaba operator Vikas Malik, who recently installed a diesel stove. “Diesel takes more time and costs more, but we have no choice.”At CMC Chowk, vendor Sher Singh typifies the local resilience, tending to a wood-fire setup with a weary smile. “I managed to get one cylinder after great difficulty, but it won’t last the day,” he said. “You just have to keep working somehow.”
