10,000 Punjab weddings under threat as Middle East conflict disrupts LPG supply

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• Punjab faces LPG cylinder shortage amid wedding season rush
• Commercial LPG supply halted, causing panic buying and hoarding
• Officials urge calm and warn against hoarding cylinders

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A sudden halt in commercial LPG cylinder supply, enforced since late Monday night on government instructions, has thrown Punjab into a state of anxiety — striking at a particularly inconvenient moment as thousands of families finalise arrangements for weddings this week.

With an estimated 10,000-plus weddings scheduled across the state, the disruption has caught marriage palace operators, caterers, hotels and ordinary households entirely off guard, triggering panic buying and rushed scrambles for extra cylinders in several areas.

According to a The Tribune report, Sukhdev Singh Sidhu of the Punjab Marriage Palace and Resort Association said the industry came to know of the commercial supply suspension only on Tuesday morning, and that he was convening an emergency meeting of association members to determine how to manage the shortfall.

The disruption has trickled down to individual households preparing for weddings. In Patiala, a resident was cited in the report as saying that his family was running around to arrange extra cylinders after caterers warned of a shortage with relatives already gathered at home. The situation has reportedly triggered panic buying and hoarding in certain pockets.

While the initial impact on hotels and restaurants has been cushioned by existing stocks, industry bodies warn of a looming crisis. Amarbir Singh, president of the Punjab Hotel and Restaurant Association, was cited by The Tribune as saying that that most establishments maintained a three-to-five-day reserve and that the real strain would be felt after a week. As a precaution, he said he had advised members to consider temporarily reverting to conventional coal-based ‘chulhas’ if required.

Meanwhile, the disruption has reportedly caused acute distress among the elderly and those living alone. Consumers have reported that LPG booking helplines remain constantly engaged, and visits to agencies often end in frustration. Many are being asked to complete KYC formalities, but even after compliance, officials reportedly cite non-functional servers that prevent bookings.

In response to the growing chaos, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued a statement asserting that domestic LPG supply to households remains the government’s top priority. To curb hoarding and black-marketing, a 25-day mandatory inter-booking period has been introduced for domestic cylinders.

Devaashish Kanojiya, a sales officer for Bharat Gas, sought to allay fears, stating to The Tribune that the Bharat Petroleum bottling plant at Lalru was operating smoothly,  He explained that the government had introduced measures like e-KYC and a Delivery Authentication Code (DAC) to eliminate ghost consumers and streamline distribution. The 25-day window, he said, was designed to ensure judicious use of LPG.

However, consumers on the ground report a starkly different reality. The report described the chaos at an Indane agency in Patiala where bookings were impossible both online and at the counter due to servers reportedly being down across the country. It noted that vulnerable individuals, including the elderly and disabled, were being turned away after waiting for hours.

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Walia appealed for calm, assuring residents that those facing booking or delivery issues could lodge formal complaints with his office or the District Food and Supplies Controller, the report added.

Olympian Hardeep Singh Grewal, who runs a gas agency, was cited in the report as appealing to residents to follow the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and avoid hoarding cylinders. Echoing the appeal for calm, Gurpreet Singh Brar, the Patiala coordinator for the All-India LPG Distributors Federation, reportedly confirmed that distributors were complying with the directive to halt commercial cylinder supply and urged the public not to panic.