LPG cylinder shortage: Gurgaon schools tell parents to send food from home as canteens shut down

GURGAON: Several city schools that serve daily meals to students have told parents to prepare to send home-packed food as an acute shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has threatened to shut down campus kitchens.The disruption has left working parents scrambling for solutions and raised concern among children who rely on school meals. This is despite the govt's assurance that schools and hospitals should not face any curbs in supply.School managements said that commercial LPG deliveries had either been delayed or stopped altogether, making it impossible to run lunch and snack services. According to officials, supplies to schools and hospitals were meant to continue, but the situation on the ground was very different.A prominent city school wrote to parents on Thursday, warning that its caterer had only two days of LPG stock left and might not be able to continue meal services from Monday. In its message, the school said the caterer was unable to procure enough cylinders because of the shortage triggered by the ongoing West Asia conflict, and asked parents to keep alternative arrangements ready for the coming week.The impact is likely to be felt most by families that chose schools with meal facilities precisely because both parents need to head to offices.Siddharth Malhotra, a parent, said lack of time to prepare meals was one of the main reasons he enrolled his children in such a school. "My wife and I are both working. So, it is convenient when the school provides meals. The children also tend to eat better with their classmates," he said.Schools said the uncertainty had made planning difficult, with many canteens already suspending operations and others warning that services could stop entirely if supplies do not improve soon.Shashi Kant Sharma, vice-president of Federation of LPG Distributors of India, said the supply of commercial LPG had effectively come to a halt. "Fresh stocks have not come in after Saturday. We are in constant touch with the authorities and trying to support residents as much as possible," he said.