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. However, the classes of MBBS, MD/MS will be held as per normal schedule. The teaching and other teaching support staff will be working as usual.”
By hook or by crook
Other campuses have decided to stay open and absorb the pressure in different ways— through higher fuel costs, modified menus, and immense operational strain on kitchen staff.
At the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, hostel messes have trimmed menus and reduced the number of gas-intensive dishes. A few smaller canteens have temporarily suspended operations to conserve resources, but there are no plans to send students back home and move to online classes.
“LPG supply has been quite dynamic and affected for the last two weeks. The supply of LPG cylinders has been unstable,” said Perumal Alagarsamy, dean of student affairs, at IIT Guwahati. “Hostel messes continue to operate with limited menus, adjusted daily based on LPG availability. To supplement, the institute is actively deploying electrical cooking techniques and conventional alternatives to ensure uninterrupted meal service.”
Amity University's Gurugram and Jaipur campuses, both dependent on LPG, have had to improvise in other ways. “Most campuses have partially transitioned to alternate cooking arrangements such as coal and wood-fired chulhas, in addition to cooking on gas. While cylinder procurement continues, it is being managed on an availability basis rather than through assured supply,” Amity university said in a reply to queries emailed by Mint.
The university's messes are operated by external vendors. Their campuses in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Lucknow largely rely on LPG cylinders and are able to manage within their allocated LPG quotas so far. However, they are still taking active measures to avoid crisis across campuses. “All campuses have rationalised and modified their food menus in response to the prevailing constraints. The focus has been on ensuring that meals continue to provide essential nutritional value,” Amity University added to their response.
At the Navi Mumbai campus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), induction cooktops and electric fryers replaced gas burners from 18 March. The diverse menu—previously featuring two vegetable curries, dal, rice, breads, and a rotation of South Indian specialties like dosas and idlis—has been stripped down to the basics.
A student at the institute said, "The menu has been stripped down to rice, dal, and a single sabji. Snacks now mean samosas or Maggi, whatever the induction stove can handle. Some students are ordering out. Many can't afford to.” For those who relied on affordable, nutritious hostel food out of necessity rather than convenience, the shift has been particularly hard.
Ranchi Veterinary College, part of Birsa Agricultural University, has resorted to the most primitive alternative—firewood. Since 11 March, canteen staff have been cooking on open wood-fired brick stoves, chopping logs and clearing ash between meals.
The food is basic and smoke regularly fills the kitchen, but the students remain appreciative of the grueling effort required to feed them. "It isn't the best meal we could ask for, but at least there is food. We see how hard the staff is working to cook on firewood chulhas to keep us fed, and we are grateful," said a student on campus.
The IIMs, too, have trimmed menus and scrambled to find alternative vendors, though academic schedules there have continued without disruption, as Mint reported earlier.
Supplies incoming
The government, meanwhile, is working to ease the pressure. On Sunday the petroleum ministry announced that two LPG carriers, with a combined cargo of 94,000 metric tonnes, had cleared the Strait of Hormuz and were headed for Indian ports.
Mint reported on Monday that four state-run companies—Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and GAIL—were in active talks with Angola's Sonangol to secure fresh LPG and LNG supply agreements. If a deal is finalized, it may be the first time the Central African country will supply cooking gas to India.
Emails sent to MMU Mullana, NMIMS Navi Mumbai, Birsa Agricultural University, and other institutions, including engineering colleges such as IITs and NITs, did not elicit a response.