LPG Shortage Hits Indian Railways: IRCTC Shifts to Microwave and Induction for Station Food: This move by IRCTC comes at a time when the growing crisis in the Middle East is disrupting energy supplies across India and there are reports of difficulties due to lack of LNG supply.
The nationwide shortage of LPG cylinders is now affecting the catering services of the Indian Railways. This problem is affecting the arrangements of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCT) for serving food in trains. In view of the situation, the Railways is considering temporarily suspending the service of cooked food in trains and giving refunds to passengers who have pre-booked food along with their tickets.
IRCTC has directed its catering license holders to implement other arrangements (contingency plans) so that passengers do not face any problem in the food service.
IRCTC's base kitchens impacted -
According to railway officials, the LPG shortage is having the greatest impact on IRCTC's base kitchens. These are the base kitchens where food is prepared for trains and then loaded into pantry cars. Pantry cars are primarily used for distribution and reheating, and they typically don't have LPG cylinders. However, cooking problems in base kitchens are now impacting food preparation for long-distance trains.
In a letter issued on March 10, IRCTC directed food plazas, refreshment rooms, and Jan Aahar outlets at railway stations to adopt alternative fuels or cooking methods in the event of an LPG shortage, so that serving food to passengers is not hindered.
Restaurant and Hotel Associations Have Expressed Concern -
Earlier, the Restaurant and Hotel Associations had expressed concern that if the crisis caused by the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders in cities like Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai continues, they may be forced to close. They have demanded immediate government intervention on this issue. Sagar Daryani, President of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), said that restaurants are already considering limited menus or staggered opening hours.
Also Read: LPG crisis: India consumes 30 million tonnes of LPG every year
