- LPG shortages amid the US–Iran conflict are disrupting central kitchens run by women-led self-help groups in Mumbai.
- Around 147 organisations preparing mid-day meals for lakhs of students are struggling to procure cooking gas.
- Women’s groups have urged authorities for urgent intervention as supply curbs affect meal prepar
The women-led organisations running central kitchens are unable to procure LPG cylinders in Mumbai due to a severe supply crunch in India amidst the US-Iran conflict. Around 147 women-led organisations serve cooked food through central kitchens among lakhs of students.
They prepare it under the Midday Meal programme in Mumbai launched as the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, who were appointed in 2024-25 for a three-year period.
Under the scheme, the government supplies rice, pulses, vegetables, oil and spices for the meals prepared by women's groups. The groups receive a subsidy on each meal consumed by the students, around Rs 6-7 per student per day for classes 1-5 and Rs 10 per student for classes 6-8; in return they bear the cost of cooking fuel, transportation and maintaining kitchen facilities.
Also Read: Iran War-Led Fuel Crisis Hits BMC Headquarters: Canteen Switches To Electric Stoves
They operate the self-help groups (SHGs), mid-day meal and community kitchens in society. The groups are experiencing significant difficulties in getting hold of commercial cooking gas (LPG) cylinders as supply companies have categorized them as commercial entities.
The restriction in gas distribution among commercial operators like restaurants and hostels has forced them to curtail operations, prompting an urgent plea by the women-led organization to the Director of Primary Education. Women's self-help groups that run central kitchens in the city for mid-day meals would find it extremely difficult to cook meals without LPG cylinders, quoted BMC's deputy education officer in charge of the mid-day meal programme, reported by Hindustan Times.
The state-run oil companies have halted the supply chain of domestic LPG cylinders to commercial and SHG organizations from March 10 as the country is witnessing a scarcity of gas cylinders due to the war in the Middle East.
Also Read: LPG Shortage Hits Mumbai Midday Meals; BMC Schools Forced To Serve Bananas
The BMC has urged the state education department and the Maharashtra government to direct oil companies to ensure an uninterrupted supply of LPG cylinders to central kitchens.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
