LPG Shortage Hits Food Delivery Hard: Swiggy, Zomato Orders Plunge 80-85% in Many Cities; Restaurants Shut Kitchens, IT Firms Ask Employees to Bring Tiffin from Home

A severe nationwide shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has delivered a massive blow to India’s food delivery ecosystem, with Swiggy and Zomato reporting order volumes dropping by 80–85% in several major cities over the past 72 hours.

Delivery partners and restaurant owners say the crisis has reached a breaking point: many kitchens are receiving only 4–6 orders per day instead of the usual 25–40 during peak lunch and dinner hours. Several cloud kitchens and small-to-mid-size restaurants in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities have temporarily shut operations or drastically reduced menus.

Delivery Platforms Sound Alarm

Swiggy and Zomato have internally acknowledged the situation in city-level dashboards and partner communications seen by reporters. Key impacts being reported:

• Average orders per restaurant: down from 30–40 to 5–8 in many zones of Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh.
• Peak-hour collapse: Lunch orders (12:00–3:00 pm) in some areas fell below 10% of normal levels.
• Cancellation rate: spiked to 35–45% in affected clusters due to restaurants marking themselves “temporarily unavailable”.

Both platforms have activated “low LPG alert” messages to customers in worst-hit pin-codes, advising them to expect longer delivery times or limited restaurant availability.

Restaurants Forced to Scale Down or Shut

• Many QSRs, cloud kitchens and independent restaurants have either closed for the day or are operating only on limited pre-cooked items that don’t require fresh gas.
• A large chain of biryani outlets in Bengaluru and Hyderabad told partners: “We have 2 cylinders left. After that we shut till supply resumes.”
• Several premium dine-in restaurants in South Delhi and Koramangala have moved to electric induction for select dishes but say full operations are impossible without reliable LPG.

Corporates Tell Employees: Bring Tiffin from Home

At least five large IT/ITES companies in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune have sent internal emails asking employees to bring home-cooked food for the next few days. One such communication (seen by this newspaper) reads:

“Due to the ongoing LPG crisis affecting food delivery services in the city, we advise all employees to make alternate arrangements for lunch. Please bring tiffin from home wherever possible. Pantry will continue to provide tea/coffee.”

Similar advisories have been issued by companies in Gurugram and Noida.

Why the Shortage?

• Oil marketing companies (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL) cite a combination of:
  • Sudden spike in industrial & commercial demand post-winter
  • Refinery maintenance shutdowns
  • Logistics bottlenecks due to fog-related delays in northern India
  • Export commitments under long-term contracts

Industry sources say commercial cylinder refills are currently taking 7–12 days in major cities (vs normal 2–4 days).

Government & Industry Response

• Petroleum Minister has called an emergency meeting with OMCs tomorrow morning.
• IOCL and BPCL have promised to prioritise refills for restaurants and cloud kitchens starting tonight.
• Swiggy & Zomato have announced temporary cash support of ₹500–1,000 per affected restaurant partner for alternate fuel arrangements (induction / electric tandoor).

Bottom Line

The LPG crunch has turned India’s $5+ billion online food delivery sector into a near-standstill in several key markets. If the shortage continues beyond another 4–5 days, analysts warn of permanent order loss to home cooking, office canteens and dark-store grocery delivery.

For millions of delivery partners and restaurant staff, the next few days will decide whether this remains a short-term disruption or turns into a longer-term livelihood crisis.