The repercussions of a war being fought nearly a significant distance away are now reaching India's homes.
As US-Israeli strikes on Iran impede energy shipments through the key maritime chokepoint, supplies of cooking gas are tightening across India, pushing restaurants to cut menus, close earlier and in some cases close completely.
Social media is awash with video clips showing crowds outside fuel suppliers across Indian urban and rural areas as anxieties over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in commercial eateries.
"Conditions are critical. LPG simply is unavailable," says a representative of the an industry group.
Most food outlets run either on commercial LPG cylinders or direct gas lines, and the scarcities are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have closed - some in northern India, many in the southern states. People are adopting coal and wood and induction stoves to keep kitchens going."
In a western metro, accounts say up to a significant portion of hospitality businesses are already fully or partly shut as business fuel stocks tighten. In the southern cities of tech and coastal hubs, some establishments say their fuel reserves have dwindled with little backup. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is nothing less than pathetic. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru.
Restaurant owners are rushing to adjust. "Menus are being curtailed, some are cutting lunch service and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that shutdowns are changing as supplies wax and wane. "A number of eateries in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a dynamic scenario."
Retailers note a spike in sales of electric cookers, with some saying they are running out of them.
Yet, the government maintains there is no shortage.
India has more than 300 million household consumers and officials say cylinders are being redirected to households as tensions from the war in the Gulf affect energy markets.
Approximately six out of ten of India's LPG is imported, and about 90% of those imports pass through the key maritime route, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now effectively closed by the conflict.
The oil ministry says that it instructed refineries to boost LPG output for domestic use, raising domestic production by about 25%. Commercial stock is being reserved for essential sectors such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "fair and transparent".
"A degree of anxious stocking and stockpiling has been sparked by rumors. The regular refill period for household cylinders remains about under three days," says a ministry representative.
Now the concern is extending beyond kitchens. On online networks, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of two-wheelers outside a petrol pump. "The panic is real," the caption reads.
According to analysis from energy specialists, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be exaggerated.
India imports 90% of its crude oil. Around 50% of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the strait, largely from regional suppliers.
Even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are hindered, the deficit could be partly compensated for by higher imports of Russian petroleum, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.
Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, additional Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, narrowing India's effective shortfall from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.
"A large quantity of Russian oil barrels are currently on the water in the Indian Ocean and, with only India and China as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted.
The primary concern is kitchen fuel, experts note.
India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only 40-45% domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through the Strait.
Refineries can modify output to squeeze out a bit more LPG, but even a 10-20% boost would only increase domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports.
In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be partially mitigated through alternative sourcing. Fuel availability remains relatively comfortable. Cooking gas supply is the key factor to watch in the coming weeks."
What may be worsening the panic on the ground is not just tight supply but erratic supply chains - and the usual problem of hoarding.
An industry representative claims price gouging.
"Distributors are misusing the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being hoarded and sold at a premium."
For now, India's oil supplies may be cushioned by international market dynamics. But in homes across the country, the more urgent issue is simple: how to get the next gas canister.
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