Gurgaon: As cooking gas supplies tighten in the wake of the conflict in West Asia, the sharpest blow is being felt in JJ clusters and other such slum areas, where daily wagers, domestic staffers and migrant families depend on 5-litre cylinders to cook a meal.For most, these mini cylinders are the only option because they do not have formal LPG connections. Now, even that fragile lifeline is slipping away as refill rates have surged from about Rs 100 a kg to nearly Rs 400.Residents said the crisis was not just about price, but access. Even after paying far more, many are being given only 1 kg of gas at a time, enough to last just a few days. Families are making repeated trips to informal refill points in nearby markets, often returning without gas.Shafiq, a car cleaner, said people like him fail to get regular LPG connections because they are asked for address proof and other documents they do not have. “We depend on small cylinders refilled in the local market. But now, the rate has gone up from Rs 100 a kg to Rs 400. Even then, supply is scarce. They are giving only 1 kg at a time,” he said.For some, the shortage has already disrupted daily life. Nargis Mandal, a domestic staffer from Indira Colony, said her cylinder ran out and she could not replace it. “We have been struggling since Wednesday. For two days, we had to eat food from outside. Shops in our area that usually sell small cylinders say they have no stock. I went to Kanhai and Chakkarpur, but could not get one,” she said.The shortage, she added, is affecting even those with regular connections. “My father has a permanent connection. But he is also struggling to get a cylinder booked. I asked about a 14kg cylinder, and they quoted Rs 4,000 for it,” Mandal said.The problem is no longer confined to slum clusters.Praveen Malik, RWA president of Rising Homes, said tenants and other residents without permanent LPG connections were also under pressure. “In our society, piped gas has still not started even nearly two years after the infrastructure was installed. So, several households depend on private vendors. Some are exploiting the situation and selling cylinders in the black market. A cylinder that usually costs around Rs 900 is being sold for Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000,” he added.Small businesses are also being squeezed. Manoj, who runs a tea stall near an IT park in Sector 48, said vendors who earlier bought cylinders through informal channels are now paying three to four times more.
