Delhi caterers feel the heat as LPG shortage hits events industry

Caterers across the city reported sharp price inflation, leading to last-minute chaos and uncertainty over upcoming events.

A shortage of cooking gas cylinders in the national capital has disrupted the catering and events industry, forcing caterers to turn to alternative fuels such as wood, coal and electric appliances to keep kitchens running. Event managers say they are absorbing losses or scaling down menus as they struggle to secure LPG supplies.

A Delhi Police personnel manages the situation during chaos over refilled LPG cylinders at a depot near Rajghat on Thursday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, the shortage of cooking gas reached Delhi a few days ago, leading to widespread black marketing of cylinders and denial of supply by vendors. Officially, a 14.2kg domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi costs ₹913, while a 19kg commercial cylinder costs ₹1,883. But residents say they are either paying exorbitant prices in the black market or struggling to find cylinders altogether.

Ashok Kumar, a 65-year-old caterer in east Delhi, said he turned to wood and coal on Thursday after running out of cylinders a day earlier; his clients were unwilling to pay for overpriced gas. “The wedding booking in Sikanderpur was done months ago and this situation was not anticipated. The client was not willing to pay extra and I couldn’t bear the loss, so we switched to wood and coal,” he said, adding that such a shift would also adversely affect air quality.

Caterers across the city reported sharp price inflation, leading to last-minute chaos and uncertainty over upcoming events.

“Government agencies are no longer selling commercial cylinders, and in the black market the prices have soared to three or four times the usual rate. So we are relying entirely on electrical appliances. We are continuing to book events but are unsure how well we will be able to handle the demand. We plan to keep menus simple until we have access to LPG again,” said Udit Chawla, owner of L:eat Catering in Greater Kailash.

Other catering managers are also exploring alternative fuel sources. “We are trying to make do with wood, but it has its own difficulties such as excessive smoke and low heat. We have bookings till March 15 and are unsure what to do after that,” said Shubham Kandpal, owner of Kandpal Creators and Decorators in Sarojini Nagar.

For some event management firms, the shortage has meant absorbing losses or temporarily halting operations.

Vinay Chauhan, who runs the Delhi-based Heritage Decor and Events, said he suffered a loss of ₹32,000 after buying overpriced cylinders for an engagement event in Greater Noida. “It gives my brand a bad name if I ask the client for extra money, so I had to bear the loss. And I will have to do the same for all events for which bookings have already been made,” he said.

Anupam Mukherjee of Anupam Caterers in Hauz Khas said he managed to cater events scheduled till Thursday but has stopped taking new bookings until the situation improves. “Currently we are just seeing how the situation develops and taking only those events where a PNG connection is provided,” he said.

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