War in Iran Has India Scrambling to Keep Stoves Lit for Cooking

In kitchens across India, the familiar blue flame of a gas stove symbolizes both modern convenience and successful policymaking.This week, that flame flickered.War in the Middle East has threatened the supply of the liquefied petroleum gas that powers India’s homes, restaurants and industries.The immediate anxiety is about cooking gas, for the billion-plus Indians who rely on it every day.

Worries are growing over India’s dependence on an imported fuel, the delayed efforts to protect household supplies and a panic that may have worsened the disruption.India is the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas, after China, burning about 31 million tons a year.Roughly 60 percent of that is imported, mostly via the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that provides passage from the Persian Gulf to the open sea.

The rest is made in India, mainly as a byproduct from crude-oil processing.When missiles started flying between Iran and the Arab states on Feb.28, in the aftermath of attacks by the United States and Israel, shipping through the strait came to a halt.In the following days, rumors of a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas ricocheted across India’s cities, setting off hoarding and a brisk black market in the metal cylinders used to transport the gas.

The government’s initial response consisted of the occasional reassuring social-media post by a cabinet minister.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....