Ahmedabad’s LD Engineering college mess shifts to wood stoves amid LPG crisis

The impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has now reached Ahmedabad, affecting the mess facility at LD College of Engineering. Due to a shortage of LPG cylinders and soaring prices, it has become difficult to run the hostel mess. 

This has raised concerns about providing timely and nutritious meals to a large number of students and has even affected their study schedules. To cope with the crisis, the mess management has been forced to abandon gas cooking and shift to traditional wood stoves.

Naresh Joshi, who operates the mess on the LD Engineering campus, said that the war situation has made it extremely difficult to obtain gas cylinders. “Normally, we require two cylinders daily, which were easily available earlier. But now the situation is such that suppliers are not even answering calls. Three days ago someone managed to provide two cylinders, but since then the supply has almost stopped. As a result, we have built wood stoves and started cooking on them,” he said.

Joshi added that around 150 students eat in the mess in the morning and another 150 to 200 in the evening. To ensure that students receive meals on time, the staff now begins preparations much earlier than before. “Earlier we would wake up at 7 a.m., but now we start cooking preparations from 5 a.m. so that students are not delayed. We are even ready to pay ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 per cylinder, compared to the earlier price of ₹1,700–₹1,800, but still no supplier is willing to provide them,” he said. “So far we have managed without troubling the students, but if the situation continues, it could create serious difficulties.”

Rangani Bharasar, a student living in the hostel and studying electrical engineering, said that if the mess shuts down due to the gas shortage, students will face major problems. “Here we get nutritious and good-quality food for just ₹60, which would cost much more outside in restaurants or street stalls. The quality may also not be the same, which could affect our health. Moreover, since the mess is inside the campus, it saves our time. If we have to travel two or three kilometres to eat outside, it will waste a lot of valuable study time throughout the day,” he said.