LPG shortage hits food delivery gig workers in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack

Bhubaneswar: The ongoing shortage of LPG cylinders, which continues to disrupt the operations of restaurants and other eateries in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, has left gig workers associated with food delivery platforms worried. As there has been a reasonable dip in food orders in the last few days, they fear things are going to get worse given the current situation.

Delivery partners of app-based platforms said the number of hotels accepting online food orders has come down as many have shifted to simpler menus. “Our incentives are delivery-based. This crisis has directly hit our income,” said Satyanarayan Routray, a delivery executive.




Sudarshan Singh, who has been in the profession for the last two years in Bhubaneswar, said till last week he used to complete 15 to 18 deliveries a day and earned around Rs 600, which included his fuel expenses. “Now, I am getting nine to 10 orders a day because hotels are prioritising offline customers amidst LPG shortage,” he said.

Restaurant owners in both the cities said several kitchens have been forced to scale down operations or temporarily stop online orders. “Although hotels are now choosing between electrical and firewood-based cooking, the price of dishes has not been increased at a majority of restaurants, which is why, people are now preferring to eat at restaurants. We have to retain our offline customer base, which is why, we are accepting lesser online orders,” explained Pabitra Moharana, a restaurateur, only catering to dine-in customers now.

What makes the situation worse is that unlike other states, gig workers in Odisha have not organised themselves as an association, as a result, they are unable to approach the govt for help. In other states, gig workers unions are approaching the food delivery platforms and govt for relief.