Rising black-market prices for cooking gas hit low-income families hard in New Delhi. Many now turn to traditional fuels once again, even though they know the dangers.
Families face tough choices daily
Sheela Kumari, a 36-year-old domestic helper in Madanpur Khadar, used to rely on LPG cylinders that cost between 1,800 and 2,000 rupees. Now she pays up to 5,000 rupees on the black market, nearly her full monthly salary of 6,000 rupees. So she switched back to wood and coal. A small bundle of firewood lasts several days and costs just 30 rupees. Yet she hears her children cough from the thick smoke inside their small home. “We stretch every bit of gas, but a cylinder barely lasts 15 to 20 days for our family of six,” she said. “Tell me, what other choice do we have?”
Her neighbour Munni Bai, 45, suffers from asthma. She once moved to an electric cooker and biogas from cow dung to breathe easier. However, soaring gas prices forced her to resume burning coal and wood. “Gas has simply become too expensive,” Munni Bai explained. “We cannot depend on it anymore.”
Hoarding worsens access problems
Activists point out that the real issue often lies in access rather than total supply. Many migrant workers lack proper documents for subsidised LPG, so they depend on informal markets where hoarding drives prices two or three times higher. Deepak from the Centre for Advocacy and Research noted that panic buying has increased, even though officials say major shortages have not hit yet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states to stop black marketing and avoid panic, while he stressed that India’s overall energy supplies remain stable. India imports most of its LPG from the Middle East, and ongoing conflicts have tightened those flows.
For years the government promoted the Ujjwala scheme to give over 100 million poor households clean cooking gas and reduce indoor smoke. Women and children, who stay closest to the stove, suffer most from toxic particles in wood and biomass smoke. These fuels also add to New Delhi’s already dangerous air pollution from traffic, power plants and crop burning.
Despite the health risks, many families feel they have no other option right now. They hope the situation eases soon so they can return to cleaner cooking without emptying their pockets.
