Hyderabad: The wedding invitations had already gone out. Guests were flying in from abroad, or trying to, through the flight disruptions that the US-Israel-Iran war has caused over the past 12 days. The food to be served for the big day had been decided. Things seemed set. Until now.
Everything has now hit a massive roadblock, with Hyderabad’s caterers beginning to deliver a warning no one saw coming even a few days ago: the LPG may run out.
Mohd Naseer, 51, has been struggling to find small gas cylinders for over a week for his catering business. His schedule is packed through Ramzan and he is already improvising — firewood for biryani and whatever gas remains, will be for smaller dishes that cannot be made over a wood fire.
“After that is exhausted we don’t know what will happen, and we may have to cancel orders and wait till gas is available,” he told Siasat.com. Some caterers have stocked up for about a week. Others are where Naseer is – running on fumes.
The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortage gripping the city has been building for days. A meeting between hotel owners and distributors on March 10 ended without a breakthrough. Distributors told hoteliers they were on their own, as they were helpless themselves.
A representative from one of the oldest hotels in the city told Siasat.com that commercial LPG supply has fallen to 30 per cent of what it normally is.
The crisis has a clear origin. The war between Iran and the US-Israel, which began nearly a fortnight ago, has disrupted LPG movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow strip of water through which oil tankers supply much of the world from West Asia. Iran controls the strait and has closed it to all but those in its favour.
The central government has since invoked the Essential Commodities Act and taken over LPG cylinder supply. It has saved the supply for domestic users, leaving none for commercial use, putting restaurants and caterers in the lurch.
‘We will shut shop till the situation eases’
The hotel representative, whose establishment’s branches together require over 100 cylinders a day, said the situation was beginning to feel like the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some outlets have space for firewood stoves and will switch to those. Others do not. “We have space for firewood stoves which we will utilise, but that’s not possible in our other chains so we will have no other option but to shut shop till the situation eases,” he said.
Junaid Aziz, who runs Hotel Nayab in Old City, is managing for now. His kitchen has already switched to firewood. Biryani, Haleem and Pathar Ka Gosht – dishes suited to coal and wood-fired cooking – will continue to be served. Other items will be dropped from the menu.
Bigger establishments with the infrastructure for firewood cooking, such as Grand Hotel, Nayab and Shadab, are better placed. Newer ones are not. Azeebo shut earlier than usual on Tuesday, March 10, unable to keep its kitchen running. Aziz said how things unfold will become clearer in the next two days.
Tiffin centres on borrowed time
On Wednesday, tiffin centres across the city were still open and serving as usual. But their owners know the cylinders they have are nearly empty. For many, firewood is simply not an option. “There’s no way we can use firewood to cook fried items or to make idlis. Even if I want to buy anything in black, it is simply not possible due to the rush,” said Shyam, who runs a dosa stall in Begumpet.
Jagan Mohan Reddy, president of the Telangana Gas Dealers Association, warned that it may take a while for the situation to stabilise. “Even if the Iran war ends tomorrow, it will take at least two to three months to restore normalcy,” he said.
For now, the city’s kitchens are still cooking, albeit with a sombre mood. How long this will continue, no one knows.
