LPG shortage disrupts weddings, kitchens in Madhubani

Madhubani: With the wedding season at its peak and kitchens working overtime for marriage feasts, a shortage of LPG cylinders has left families across Madhubani anxious and scrambling.

Despite official assurances of normal supply, long queues, delayed refills and refusals at gas agencies are disrupting wedding preparations as well as daily cooking.Gayatri Devi of Sripur Hati Panchayat under Pandaul block is at her wit’s end after being denied a cylinder at the local gas godown on Thursday. Her daughter’s wedding is scheduled for Friday and preparations are almost complete. She arrived with empty cylinders but returned empty-handed, and was asked to come back on March 16.

This is not an isolated incident. Long queues have formed at gas godowns and agencies across the district. While a few manage to get a cylinder after hours of waiting, most return disappointed. Women are running from door to door, even borrowing gas cards from neighbours and relatives, but OTPs are not being generated or refills are being refused on flimsy grounds.Another woman waiting in the queue said, “The wedding season is at its peak.

Not getting a cylinder has become a huge problem. Agency staff make all kinds of excuses. If someone is known to them, the work is done instantly; others are simply turned away. We are even ready to pay extra money—just give us the cylinder somehow.”Beyond weddings and functions, residents are worried about keeping their kitchens running if the situation does not ease soon. Restaurants have already begun curtailing preparations. Gulab Sah, proprietor of a popular eatery in Madhubani, said the continued unavailability of cylinders could force him to shut down operations.