The aroma of sizzling snacks that draws crowds to Chatori Gali, home to about 160 food stalls in the heart of the city, is fading fast. A shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has already forced 49 stalls to shut, and vendors warn a near-total closure is imminent.
For Avinash Kumar, who runs a small soya chap stall near 1090 Crossing, the crisis strikes at survival. “We are small-time vendors. Our stalls are how we earn our two square meals. Without LPG, we cannot cook, and from tomorrow almost all of us will be closed,” he said.
Vinod Kushwaha, who sells dosa pav bhaji, had to turn away customers and send his assistants home. “There is nothing I can do. The customers are coming, but we cannot serve them,” he said.
Sumit Mahajan, a momo seller, said the fallout would stretch beyond stall owners. “Not only 160 families of stall owners but their staff are going to be affected, just because we will not get commercial cylinders to cook,” he said.
Local resident Ram Prakash said the closures would hurt the wider community. “This lane is where we get our meals. If these stalls shut down, it will affect not just the vendors but also the community who depend on them,” he said.
Vendors have urged authorities to intervene and restore the cylinder supply. “We are not asking for charity, just the fuel we need to work,” said Ramesh Kumar, another vendor at the gali.