Empty Cylinders, Hollow Promises: LPG Crisis Deepens In Kashmir As People Queue Up For Cooking Gas
Amid government assurances about 'abundant' fuel stocks, consumers are complaining about LPG shortage in Kashmir amid the West Asia conflict, reports Parvez ud Din.
By ETV Bharat Jammu & Kashmir Team
Published : March 31, 2026 at 12:56 PM IST
Srinagar: Like in the rest of the country, the ongoing conflict in West Asia has led to an LPG crisis in Kashmir with consumers complaining of unavailability of the cooking gas despite advance bookings.
As the US-Israel attacks on Iran and Iran's retaliatory strikes in the middle east disrupted the LPG supply, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry recently reiterated a 25-day lock-in period between LPG bookings.
But, Ashfaq Ahmed, a resident of Srinagar's Chattabal area, who booked an LPG cylinder online on March 17, is awaiting the delivery despite the passage of two weeks.
“I am still not able to get the gas. The home delivery agent has switched off his phone. When I went to the gas dealer's office to inquire, they shrugged shoulders saying they had given the quota to the gas delivery person on time,” an agitated Ashfaq told ETV Bharat.
He said that when he contacted the district administration's complaint cell over the phone in this regard, he was only given a verbal assurance that the issue would be resolved, but even after several days, the problem remained the same.
"I am still unable to get a gas cylinder. When the gas cylinder in our kitchen runs out in a few days, how we manage cooking is beyond comprehension."
Like Ashfaq Ahmed, other LPG consumers across Kashmir are also worried due to the unavailability of gas. Nazir Ahmed Khan, a resident of Zuni Mar area in Srinagar's Eidgah, said that he booked the cylinder on March 23, but even after so many days, he has not received the gas.
“Although earlier, after booking the gas, the home delivery agent used to deliver the gas cylinder to the house for Rs 970 within 24 or 48 hours, today, despite a cash memo of Rs 1029, I am not able to get gas,” he said.
Kashmir valley is witnessing serpentine queues of consumers, who have booked their gas cylinders as per the schedule set by the government. Many consumers said that they have even received OTPs(one-time passwords) for the delivery, but the LPG cylinders elude them.
The suspension of the home delivery facility is only compounding the hardships especially in urban areas where kitchens are solely dependent on LPG amid skyrocketing power bills after the installation of smart electric meters. While the government has been claiming "abundant” fuel reserves, the situation on the ground seems to be different.
Consumers have accused LPG dealers of taking advantage of the situation by creating artificial shortages and hoarding of gas. Many said that dealers were charging delivery charges from them despite providing cylinders directly from their warehouses and units.
Some consumers said that the gas agencies were selling gas cylinders in black at inflated prices. Complaints have been made to the provincial administration and the consumer affairs department several times in this regard, but no clear and effective action has been taken yet.
Meanwhile, restaurant and tea stall owners ETV Bharat spoke to in Srinagar seemed unfazed by the prevailing gas crisis. Mohammad Akram (name changed), a tea stall owner based in Hari Singh High Street area of the city said, "It(LPG) is expensive, but the dealer is supplying gas as per the normal requirement without any problem. But the commercial cylinder which was available from 1800 to 1900 is now having to be bought for 2500. Thankfully, it is available."
On the other hand, Jagmohan Singh Raina, president of the LPG Federation and owner of the Kashmir Gas Agency, admitted that "there has been a huge gap between supply and demand”.
“For several weeks, supply has not been able to meet demand. In such a situation, we still try to provide our normal supply,” Raina said. Rejecting any kind of hoarding and black marketing on the part of the agencies, he said, "We are providing gas as per the booking and there is no question of black marketing."
Raina said that people were panicking in view of the ongoing war in the Middle East. “Even if a family has two cylinders full, they still try to get the third cylinder refilled and spend hours in queues trying to get the cylinder, which is a matter of concern,” he said.
Read More:
