Pune student messes report LPG shortage as global tensions spark supply concerns

Pune's student messes face LPG shortages due to the West Asia conflict, impacting meal availability and forcing price hikes, leaving students in crisis.

Constraints in LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) availability in India caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States have now hit the city’s vast network of student messes, leaving thousands of students uncertain about their daily meals.

Pune, widely known as an educational hub that hosts students from across the country — particularly from rural regions of Maharashtra — is witnessing a crisis as the supply of commercial LPG cylinders becomes increasingly irregular. (AP file photo for representation)

Pune, widely known as an educational hub that hosts students from across the country — particularly from rural regions of Maharashtra — is witnessing a crisis as the supply of commercial LPG cylinders becomes increasingly irregular. Mess operators in traditional student localities have reported difficulty in procuring cylinders, forcing many to raise meal prices even as others consider a temporary shutdown. For students, the disruption is already affecting their daily routines and budgets. So much so that several students are now searching for smaller household kitchens or eateries that still manage to cook with limited gas supplies.

Sarang Dukare, a student from Marathwada studying in Pune, said, “Most of us depend on affordable mess services for two meals a day. With some messes closing and others increasing prices, we are now trying to find small household messes in nearby lanes. Now two of us share a single tiffin because we simply cannot afford the higher rates.”

Shubhangi Bhong, a student from Vidarbha, said that the uncertainty is making it difficult to manage expenses. “Our budgets are already tight. If mess rates go up or they shut down, we will be left with no option but to look for cheaper alternatives or somehow cook in our rooms,” she said.

Aditi Reddy, a Ph.D. scholar at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory who hails from Karnataka, said that the disruption is already affecting daily meal arrangements. “I stay in a paying guest accommodation and rely on a tiffin service. Today, my tiffin was not delivered and I was informed that the service will remain unavailable for the next three days due to the gas shortage. It has become very difficult to manage meals,” she said.

Mess operators claim the shortage has left them with little choice. Ganesh Khatane, who runs a commercial student mess serving more than 300 students, said that the crisis escalated after supplies from distributors became irregular. “We usually book commercial cylinders regularly but this time, the supply chain has been disrupted. We could not secure cylinders in advance and now distributors say there is no stock. Without gas, we simply cannot cook so we may have to close the mess until supply improves,” Khatane said.

Student representative Nitin Andhale warned that the situation could worsen if authorities do not intervene quickly. “The gas supply disruption is directly affecting lakhs of students studying in Pune. Many messes and small hotels are on the verge of shutting down. The government should provide immediate relief such as starting subsidised ‘roti-sabzi’ centres,” he said.

Kuldeep Ambekar, president, Student Helping Hands, said that the shortage is already forcing organisations to scale down food services for students. “Through our food scholarship programme, we provide two meals a day to over 700 students. Due to the gas supply constraints, we have had to temporarily trim the menu. From tomorrow, students will receive khichdi in both meals instead of a full meal till such time the situation improves,” he said.

The situation is becoming so dire that students and mess operators have demanded that educational institutions, hostels and student messes be treated as essential services for LPG supply until the shortage eases. They have also called for strict action against black-market sales and a dedicated quota of commercial LPG for mess operators serving students.

With Pune’s large student population dependent on low-cost community kitchens, stakeholders warn that prolonged disruption could trigger a wider crisis for thousands of students living away from home.