As cooking gas becomes scarce and expensive, and jobs linked to it begin to shrink, many migrants are once again packing their bags and heading home.
Five years after COVID-19 forced millions of migrant workers to leave cities and return to their villages, a fresh crisis is bringing back similar scenes. This time, it is the LPG shortage linked to the ongoing conflict in West Asia that is pushing workers out of metro cities. As cooking gas becomes scarce and expensive, and jobs linked to it begin to shrink, many migrants are once again packing their bags and heading home, echoing the disruption seen during the pandemic.
A crisis of LPG has pushed several migrant workers from Bihar to return to their hometowns. As restaurants reduce operations due to irregular gas supply, thousands employed in hotels and eateries are facing uncertainty and heading back to their villages.
At Danapur Railway Station in Patna, workers said they had no option but to leave as LPG had become difficult to access. Many complained of delayed deliveries or cylinders with less gas. Rising food prices at hotels have made eating outside unaffordable.
One worker said there was a cooking gas crisis which also led to food shortages. He added that people were forced to use wood for cooking. Another said without LPG, there was no work, leaving them with no choice but to return home.
“There is no gas, no work, and no way to cook. That is why we are going back to our village. Food outside is too expensive, and without LPG we cannot cook. We have no option but to leave,” said one migrant worker at Bihar’s Danapur Railway Station.
Another migrant worker said, “Even if work is there, how do we survive without cooking gas? Everything has become unaffordable.”
Impact seen across cities
The crisis has been reported in several parts of the country. Migrant workers are facing both livelihood and survival challenges. Many depend on LPG for cooking in shared housing, while their jobs in restaurants, street food stalls and small units rely heavily on gas supply.
In Mumbai, migrants have started leaving as they struggle with rising cooking costs and food prices. Passengers on trains such as the Kamayani Express to Uttar Pradesh, the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Rajgir Express to Bihar and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Howrah Mail to West Bengal were tracked. Of 130 migrants interviewed at two major stations, 62 said they were returning due to the LPG shortage.
Vishesh Tyagi, a 24-year-old worker employed at a plumbing material factory. Tyagi had returned to Mumbai on March 19 after a short visit to Varanasi but decided to leave again within five days.He said he could not find a gas cylinder and could not afford to eat outside every day, leaving him with little reason to stay in the city.
The Tribune quoted Ram Bhawan Goswami, president of the Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Parishad (Amritsar), as saying that around 40,000 to 50,000 labourers out of nearly 35 lakh in Punjab return to their native places during this period every year. “The shortage of cooking gas is certainly forcing many more to join them this time,” he said.
At Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, Dhaba owner Suresh said, “We are facing a lot of problems because gas cylinders are getting expensive. If someone is selling on the black market, they are charging Rs 2,500. The situation is bad at the agency as well. They say that the gas will be available only if we had made a prior booking… We are facing a lot of loss…”
Sharp rise in LPG prices
Many workers said prices of small 5 kg cylinders had risen from around Rs 500 to Rs 550 to between Rs 1,100 and Rs 2,000. A standard 14.2-kg cylinder, which earlier cost Rs 900 to Rs 1,200, is now reportedly selling for Rs 3,200 to Rs 4,000 in some places.
Some workers claimed that LPG was being sold in the black market at around Rs 500 per kg, making it unaffordable for daily wage earners.
Surat sees large outflow of labour
In Surat, Gujarat, the shortage has led to a visible exodus of workers. Over 150,000 labourers have left the city in the past 30 days.
Workers said that even when jobs were available, they could not continue living in the city due to the high cost or lack of cooking gas.
“I have returned from Udhna, Surat. There was problem of gas (LPG) and there was not much work also. We were cooking food on wood fire,” says a daily wager as quoted by PTI.
“I have returned from Delhi, had gone there to work. But there was problem of gas, it was being sold (refilled) at Rs 450 (per kg), so I had to return. Gas was available but it was very costly which forced us to return,” says Kamlesh Kumar, another daily wager.
“We are going to the village because we have not been getting gas for the last few days. Our companies are also shutting down… We don’t have money, that’s why we are going back. Nobody is helping us here… We will return once the gas supply resumes. Many people are going back,” a migrant worker, Sachin, said.
Another migrant worker, Seema Devi, claimed that she has been trying to get gas for the past fifteen days without any results.
West Asia war behind supply disruptions
The ongoing shortage of LPG in India has been linked to the conflict in West Asia, now in its fifth week. The situation has disrupted global energy supply chains. India imports about 60 per cent of its LPG, much of it from West Asia.
A survey found that more than 40 per cent of households faced delays in receiving cylinders last week.
The shortage is not only affecting households but also businesses. The restaurant industry could face losses of up to Rs 79,000 crore as many outlets cut menus or temporarily shut due to irregular gas supply.
A migrant worker, Prashanth Sahu, as quoted by TOI, said, “After the second lockdown during Covid-19, my brother and I moved to Hyderabad from Odisha. We have settled here, and my children are studying in local schools. However, the owner of the restaurant where I work has downsized operations, and many of us have been informed that we may lose our jobs if the situation worsens. We did not receive our full salary in March, and now I am forced to consider returning to farming in Odisha. I am particularly worried about my children’s education.”
The crisis has gone beyond supply issues and is now affecting daily life. Delays in refills, rising black market prices and reduced job opportunities are forcing many migrant workers to reconsider staying in major cities.
