LPG Crisis in India Live Updates: CCPA warns hotels and restaurants against adding LPG and fuel charges to bills

Amid an ongoing LPG shortage, eateries across the city are under mounting financial stress, with many reporting losses of 40–45%. Restaurant owners say the sharp rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, which continue to range between Rs 4,000 and Rs 7,000, has severely disrupted daily operations."We are left with no choice but to switch to firewood due to the LPG shortage, but this is not a viable long-term solution.We are also using induction stoves, but all of this combined has increased input costs nearly threefold," said N Bharan, who runs a chain of restaurants.

State labour minister Akash Fundkar on Monday said that the labour department has not issued any circular on providing free LPG cylinders to construction workers, dubbing the post circulating on social and electronic media as "false."Speaking to TOI, Fundkar said the misinformation had caused confusion among workers across the state. "The circular claiming free LPG cylinders to them is completely incorrect.No such directive has been issued by the labour department," he said, while stressing that the department is committed to ensuring the welfare of workers through proper coordination with developer bodies.

Amid the ongoing West Asia crisis disrupting global LNG supplies, industrial units across Madhya Pradesh are facing a fresh energy squeeze, with piped natural gas (PNG) supply capped at 65 percent of average consumption, down from 80 percent. Industry bodies say the move is already forcing production cuts and sharply raising fuel costs. Manufacturers said the reduction in gas allocation has directly impacted production capacities, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food processing, plastics, packaging, engineering and chemicals that depend heavily on PNG for boilers, heating and continuous manufacturing processes.

Hit by a prolonged shortage of commercial LPG cylinders and soaring black-market prices, hundreds of bakeries and condiment shops are now struggling to stay afloat.While larger hotels have managed to navigate the LPG crunch using limited stock or alternative fuels such as firewood, it is the humble bajji, bonda, and samosa stalls that are bearing the brunt."These stalls run on thin margins. Without gas, we simply cannot function," said a shop owner in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on BJP govt, alleging that farmers in Uttar Pradesh have been pushed into distress, while rising prices and administrative failures have worsened public hardship.Speaking to the media after paying floral tributes to social thinker Ram Manohar Lohia at Lohia Park in Gomti Nagar on his birth anniversary, Akhilesh said potato farmers have suffered heavy losses due to extremely low market prices.