The ripple effects of a conflict being fought nearly a significant distance away are now being felt in India's households.
As aerial attacks on Iran impede energy deliveries through the vital shipping lane, stocks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are dwindling across India, compelling restaurants to reduce offerings, shorten hours and in some cases close completely.
Social media is filled with video clips showing lines outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian metros and localities as anxieties over fuel supplies grow. Businesses appear the most affected: the most severe shortage is in food service establishments.
"The situation is dire. Cooking gas simply is unavailable," says a official of the a major restaurant body.
Most eateries run either on business-grade gas tanks or direct gas lines, and the shortages are now being felt across the country. "A lot of restaurants have shut down - some in the capital, many in the southern region. People are turning to solid fuels and electric cookers to keep kitchens going."
In Mumbai, local news say up to a 20% of hotels and restaurants are already fully or partly shut as business fuel stocks dwindle. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some eateries say their cylinder inventory have shrunk with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru.
Restaurant operators are seeking alternatives. "Food options are being cut, some are opening only for dinner and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are varying as supplies wax and wane. "Several establishments in Delhi were shut yesterday - two have already reopened. It's a dynamic scenario."
Retailers observe a surge in sales of electronic cooking appliances, with some saying they are facing stockouts.
Yet, the government insists there is no shortage.
India has more than 300 million home fuel subscribers and authorities say supplies are being redirected to households as geopolitical strain from the Middle East conflict ripple through energy markets.
About a majority of India's LPG is imported, and about nine out of ten of those consignments pass through the key maritime route, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now significantly disrupted by the war.
The oil ministry says that it ordered refineries to maximise LPG output for home needs, raising domestic production by about a significant margin. Non-domestic supply is being reserved for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "fair and transparent".
"Unnecessary hoarding and hoarding has been sparked by rumors. The standard supply timeline for household cylinders remains about two-and-a-half days," says a government spokesperson.
Now the anxiety is moving beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a long, snaking queue of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "Anxiety is palpable," the text reads.
According to reports from energy specialists, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be premature.
India imports 90% of its petroleum. Around half of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Gulf countries.
Even if petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are blocked, the deficit could be partly compensated for by higher imports of Russian petroleum, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.
Based on shipping data and expert analysis, increased Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, lessening India's effective deficit from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.
"A large quantity of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only key buyers as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted.
The real vulnerability is kitchen fuel, commentators observe.
India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - most of it through the Strait.
Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only raise domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports.
In short: "Petroleum shortage concerns can be moderately reduced through varied suppliers. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. Cooking gas supply is the key factor to monitor in the coming weeks."
What may be worsening the concern on the ground is not just tight supply but uneven distribution - and the familiar spectre of panic buying.
An industry representative claims exploitative practices.
"Retailers are exploiting the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold to the highest bidder."
For now, India's oil supplies may be buffered by global trade flows. But in restaurants across the country, the more urgent issue is simple: how to get the next gas canister.
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