Middle East Crisis Economic Impact

Gas Crisis Forces Urban Workers to Return Home

The gas crisis in India caused by the Iran war has also led to rising food prices. This means that workers who have moved to Indian cities now feel compelled to leave, reports The Guardian.

“If we stay here for just a few more days, our children could die of starvation,” says 35-year-old Raju Prasad, who arrived in Delhi with his wife and their four children.

Like millions of other Indians, they use liquefied natural gas to cook. The family’s last gas cylinder ran out 15 days ago. In their home village, they can at least cook on a makeshift mud stove, he says.

25-year-old Sarfaraz is also trying to get home. He is waiting for his family to send him 300 rupees, equivalent to 30 kronor, for the ticket.

“I came here to support my family, but now I am asking them to send me money,” he says.

Restaurant Owners in India Kneel Under Gas Shortage

The gas crisis caused by the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hit India hard – not least the country’s restaurants, reports NBC News.

Millions of people in India rely on liquefied natural gas to cook. One of them is Abhishekh Dixit, who runs a restaurant in Delhi. He says that the price of gas cylinders has risen dramatically, and that there are no longer any guarantees that there will be gas cylinders to buy, even on the black market.

His neighbor Utkarsh Sharma, who has run his restaurant for three generations, says that his production has decreased by almost 40 percent since the war started.

“My entire work depends on these gas cylinders,” he says.