Kitchen on fire after fresh rise in domestic LPG price

Kolkata: Middle-class households across Kolkata woke up to a cold shock this Sunday, June 7, as domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices surged by Rs 29, bringing the cost of a 14.2 kg cylinder to Rs 968.

The hike comes a mere five days after a massive Rs 53.50 jump in commercial gas prices, which now stand at R s3,255.50. The volatile West Asia conflict has left the city’s homemakers struggling to balance already fragile kitchen budgets.

For the women who manage household kitchens, the news felt like a direct assault on their monthly savings. In north Kolkata’s Bagbazar, Mousumi Ghosh, a homemaker managing a family of five, expressed her frustration while checking her delivery app.

“We are already paying more for vegetables and cooking oil. Now, another Rs 29 for gas? It might seem like a small number to the authorities, but for us, it’s a cumulative burden,” said Swapna De, a Tollygunge resident. “Every time the West Asia crisis flares up, it’s our stoves that feel the heat. We can’t stop eating, so we end up cutting back on clothes or small treats for the children in the family.”

The sentiment was echoed across the city. In the housing complexes of Garia, Sumitra Banerjee, a retired teacher, noted that the stability of domestic gas prices had been one of the few silver linings in recent months.

“The domestic rate had been steady, but this sudden hike—coming so soon after the commercial gas increase—is a warning sign,” Banerjee remarked. “When commercial gas goes up, our tea and snacks outside get expensive. Now, even cooking a simple meal at home is becoming a luxury. How many times can a middle-class budget be squeezed?”

Industry experts attribute the spike to international crude volatility and rising procurement costs. Smaller cylinders were not spared either: the 5 kg cylinder rose to Rs 358.50, while the 10 kg variant climbed to Rs 691.50.

Although the prices of commercial cooking gas (Commercial LPG), petrol, and diesel in the domestic market were hiked significantly several times, the price of domestic cooking gas was kept unchanged until now keeping the common man in mind. However, due to continuous pressure from the international market and supply-chain crises, oil companies were ultimately forced to raise the price of household gas at the beginning of June, leaving ordinary citizens struggling to balance their monthly expenses