Pani puri stalls vanish in Bhopal: LPG crunch leaves bitter taste in vendors, customers' mouths

BHOPAL: The city's street food culture continues to be under severe strain as a shortage of commercial gas cylinders disrupts pani puri stalls and similar snack vendors.A familiar part of late-night eating and family outings, pani puri stalls have sharply declined across busy roads and market areas, with vendors estimating that nearly 40% business has been hit, with stalls either closing down or cutting losses.The shortage is linked to wider supply chain disruptions caused by the intensifying conflict involving Iran and the United States. In Bhopal, local distributors say reserves were exhausted within a short period, leaving small food vendors with little choice but to cut back operations or stop entirely.

The impact is visible in major Bhopal markets such as Kolar, Jawahar Chowk, BHEL area and others where many carts are either closed or they are opening for few hours during peak evening hours.

Vendors who once served steady crowds are struggling to secure enough fuel even for basic preparation. Pukhraj, a pani puri seller from Jawahar Chowk, says that after two decades in the business, he is now unable to use oil to fry pani puri for a single batch. Others, already weakened by shortage of commercial cylinders, have parked their carts and taken temporary work elsewhere or turned to black-market cylinders sold at several times the normal rate.

Ratiram, a major whole sale supplier of pani puri to the retailers said, "I have told retailers that I can't continue supplying like earlier days. I have cut down the pani puri making by 40% due to the commercial LPG shortage."Consumers are also feeling the effects. In some areas, pani puri prices have risen from Rs 10 toRs 15-20 per plate at different places.For students and daily wage earners, a once affordable snack is becoming difficult to justify. Vendors report that customer numbers have dropped sharply, worsening the pressure on already fragile incomes. Babulal, who operates near Lily Square, says that if the situation continues much longer, many families dependent on street vending may lose their only source of livelihood.