When Ravi (name changed), a Zomato delivery partner in Delhi, logged into the app on Thursday morning, he was hoping for a regular workday. Until yesterday, he would complete 25–30 food deliveries a day, enough to cover rent, groceries and other expenses. On March 13, he managed just six to seven orders. The reason is LPG shortage, which has hit restaurants.
Food Without Gas
“Restaurants are running limited kitchens due to gas supply shortage. I am delivering food on time, but getting limited orders. I have only delivered 6-7 orders so far,” Ravi said as he explained that his usual daily delivery count is 25-30 orders.
Ravi is one among thousands of food delivery workers feeling the immediate fallout of India’s worsening commercial LPG shortage, which has forced restaurants, cloud kitchens, dhabas and caterers to scale down or suspend operations. The disruption has sharply reduced food orders on platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy, directly hitting gig workers who depend on volume-based daily earnings.
A Swiggy delivery partner echoed the distress. “I usually deliver around 40 orders in a day,” he said. “Today, I did just 10–12 deliveries. Many outlets I go to say they don’t have gas or are waiting for cylinders.”
Helpless Situation
Asked whether he could switch to Swiggy’s quick-commerce arm Instamart to make up for lost income, the rider said the option is limited. “When I joined Swiggy, I was also registered on Instamart. Sometimes I get Instamart orders if they face a crunch of riders,” he explained. “But I cannot fully switch. There is no rider crunch there right now and services are running normally.”
What Numbers Say?
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) says these individual experiences reflect a much larger crisis unfolding across the country. In a press release dated March 12, the union claimed that 50–60 per cent of food delivery orders have been wiped out on major platforms due to the LPG supply crunch.
“Within the union, there is panic,” said Nirmal Gorana, national coordinator of GIPSWU. “Workers are telling us orders are dropping rapidly. Many depend on daily earnings. Even a few days like this can create issues.”
Why LPG Is at the Centre of the Crisis
India relies heavily on imported petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gas used by commercial kitchens. The current shortage is linked to global supply disruptions caused by the escalating Middle East conflict, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil and gas transit routes.
With tanker movements disrupted and insurance costs surging, LPG imports have slowed, leading to shortages of commercial cylinders across several Indian cities. While domestic LPG supply for households remains largely protected, commercial users, restaurants, street food vendors, caterers and cloud kitchens, are bearing the brunt.
As kitchens shut or operate with limited hours, food delivery platforms see fewer orders, and gig workers are left idle despite being logged in for long shifts.
‘Our Members Are Starving’
In its March 12 statement, GIPSWU described the situation as a humanitarian crisis affecting lakhs of workers nationwide. “Our members are starving,” the release said. “Families are skipping meals and children are going hungry. A gig worker from Delhi, a father of two, told us, ‘From 30 deliveries a day to just 5–10, and now platforms threaten to deactivate my ID for low performance.’”
The union estimates that nearly one crore workers are being affected across related sectors, including food delivery, ride-hailing and cloud kitchen employment. With no fixed salaries, paid leave or social security, gig workers are particularly vulnerable to shocks beyond their control.
Union Demands Immediate Relief
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union has written to the Union Labour Minister, urging immediate intervention. Among its key demands:
- Ensuring 24/7 supply of commercial LPG to food businesses
- An immediate Rs 10,000 compensation per affected worker from platforms like Zomato and Swiggy
- A three-month moratorium on ID deactivations and guaranteed minimum daily incentives
- Full coverage of gig workers under the Code on Social Security, 2020
“Platforms must not punish workers for order crashes caused by global events,” the union said. “They must compensate and protect those who power India’s app-driven economy.”
