The lawyers’ canteen at the Delhi High Court has temporarily suspended the preparation and serving of main course meals due to “non-availability of LPG cylinders” until further notice. The decision comes in the wake of the Iran-Israel conflict that has spread across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and other cities, disrupting the supply of commercial LPG cylinders.
“This is to respectfully inform you that due to the current unavailability of the LPG gas cylinder, we regret that we are unable to prepare and serve main meals at the Lawyers’ Canteen,” the canteen said in a notice accessed by LiveLaw.
The canteen said services will return to normal once gas supply is available. “At this time, we have no information as to when the LPG supply will resume. We will resume the main course preparation as soon as the gas supply is available,” the announcement said.
However, the center said there was no nationwide LPG crisis, adding that refineries had been ordered to increase production by around 10% to stabilize supplies.
The government looks to ECA and ESMA to manage supply
The Center invoked the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) in a bid to manage the ongoing supply shortage. The move favors domestic LPG over commercial consumption. Refineries were instructed to operate at full capacity and divert additional production solely for domestic use.
To prevent hoarding, the government has also extended the LPG reservation interval from 21 days to 25 days.
In a related move, the government on Tuesday began rationing natural gas supplies, giving preference to households that receive piped natural gas as well as compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.
Under the new order, a four-tier priority system was introduced for gas allocation. Supplies to lower priority sectors – including petrochemical plants, power plants and oil refineries – will be restricted to ensure the availability of essential services.
The main burden is borne by hotels and restaurants
The curbs have raised concerns among commercial users, especially hotels and restaurants that rely heavily on LPG cylinders for their daily operations.
The Bangalore Hotels Association issued a warning about the impact of the supply stoppage, saying: “Supply of gas cylinders for commercial use has been stopped from today. Essential services like senior citizens, students and hospitals rely on it. Union Ministers are expected to act immediately to restore commercial gas supply.”
LPG Association national vice-president RK Gupta also confirmed the suspension, adding, “Further booking will be allowed after a 25-day period between bookings to avoid hoarding and there is no shortage as claimed by oil companies.”
