- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation may halt cooked meal services on trains amid LPG supply shortages in India.
- Railway stations have been asked to switch to microwaves and induction and stock ready-to-eat food.
- The disruption is linked to tensions in the Middle East affecting shipments through the Strait of Hormu
As India struggles to secure liquefied petroleum gas supplies, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp may temporarily halt cooked meal services on trains and offer refunds to passengers who have already booked meals, The Times of India reported.
IRCTC has issued an order to the western zone railway stations to temporarily halt cooked meal services on trains amid the shortage of LPG due to the Middle Eastern conflict.
As per the circular, IRCTC directed them to use induction plates and maintain stocks of ready-to-eat food items for passengers. The directive includes food plazas, refreshment rooms, and Jan Aahar outlets across railway stations. "You must switch over to alternate cooking modes viz. microwaves and induction, to offset any potential shortage in LPG supplies," the advisory stated.
The LPG supply disruption has started to affect the IRCTC base kitchens where the meals are prepared before being loaded on the trains, the circular further stated.
With heightened tensions across the Middle East, LPG shipments are affected as Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The daily gas supply shortage has also created difficulties for restaurants in many cities across the country.
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Induction Sold Out!
Amid concerns over the supply of liquified petroleum gas due to the military conflict in the Middle East, scores of online shoppers are booking induction stoves. This has led to the product turning "unavailable" on leading e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
The supply shortage commenced after the flow of ships from the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted due to the war between Iran and the US and Israel.
Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart users noted that when they attempted to buy induction cooktops, the products were flagged as "sold out", "out of stock" or "coming soon".
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