From firewood to food apps, how India’s top colleges are tackling the LPG crunch

The scarcity of LPG cylinders has hit India’s engineering, management and medical colleges hard. Institutes are adopting diverse workarounds to manage the crisis— shifting to online classes, using diesel burners, switching to induction cooktops, or simply letting students order their meals via food delivery platforms.The crisis is due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which nearly 90% of India's LPG imports pass. The country sources about 60% of its cooking gas from overseas.

With the strait closed, supplies have tightened sharply. Commercial kitchens, including those on university campuses, sit at the back of the priority queue, behind domestic households. The impact is now unfolding across campuses nationwide.At Maharishi Markandeshwar University (MMU) in Mullana, Ambala, kitchen operations have simply stopped.

With no gas available for refuelling, the university shut down entirely on 13 March, with only medical students allowed to remain on campus. "We were sent back home mid-session as there was no food on campus due to the LPG shortage. While classes are still being conducted online, we are missing out on an in-person campus experience," said a student affected by the closure.Mint’s review of the official office order from 12 March, the day before the closure, confirmed the extensive nature of the shutdown.

The order read: "It is hereby informed that all constituent institutions of this Deemed to be University will remain closed w.e.f. 13th March 2026 till further orders. The notification for online classes will be notified separately very soon.