The repercussions of a military engagement being fought nearly 1,864 miles away are now reaching India's households.
As military actions on Iran impede energy transports through the vital shipping lane, stocks of cooking gas are tightening across India, pushing restaurants to shorten food lists, reduce operating times and in some cases close completely.
Social media is filled with video clips showing queues outside LPG distributors across Indian urban and rural areas as anxieties over fuel supplies spread. Restaurant kitchens appear the most affected: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens.
"Conditions are critical. Cooking gas simply cannot be found," says a spokesperson of the National Restaurant Association of India.
Most food outlets run either on industrial fuel canisters or piped gas, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have closed - some in Delhi, many in the southern region. People are switching to solid fuels and electric cookers to keep kitchens going."
In Mumbai, local news say up to a significant portion of hospitality businesses are already operating at reduced capacity as business fuel stocks dwindle. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some restaurants say their cylinder inventory have dwindled with minimal reserves. "We can only make coffee and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Operations will be impacted," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru.
Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Food options are being cut, some are skipping midday meals and reducing hours," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are varying as supplies ebb and flow. "A number of eateries in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a dynamic scenario."
Retailers note a surge in sales of electronic cooking appliances, with some saying they are running out of them.
Yet, the authorities insists there is sufficient stock.
India has more than 30 crore household consumers and officials say cylinders are being prioritized to households as geopolitical strain from the war in the Gulf impact energy markets.
Roughly a majority of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about nine out of ten of those imports pass through the critical waterway, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now effectively closed by the hostilities.
The oil ministry says that it instructed refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, lifting domestic production by about a significant margin. Commercial stock is being reserved for vital industries such as medical and academic centers, while distribution will be "just and open".
"Some panic booking and accumulation has been triggered by misinformation. The standard supply timeline for household cylinders remains about under three days," says a ministry representative.
Now the anxiety is moving beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a extended procession of scooters outside a petrol pump. "Anxiety is palpable," the caption reads.
According to data from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader fuel supplies may be overstated.
India imports the overwhelming majority of its petroleum. Around 50% of its petroleum shipments - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Middle Eastern nations.
Even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are hindered, the deficit could be partly made up by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.
Based on vessel tracking and expert analysis, increased Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, narrowing India's effective deficit from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.
"Around 25-30 million Russian oil barrels are currently in transit at sea in the Indian Ocean and, with only two major Asian economies as major buyers, those barrels remain a ready fallback," an analyst noted.
The real vulnerability is LPG, experts note.
India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only less than half domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through the chokepoint.
Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a limited rise would only increase domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports.
In short: "Crude supply risk can be partially mitigated through varied suppliers. Fuel availability remains largely sufficient. Cooking gas supply is the real variable to watch in the coming weeks."
What may be heightening the concern on the ground is not just scarcity but uneven distribution - and the usual problem of stockpiling.
An industry representative states opportunistic profiteering.
"Suppliers are misusing the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold at a premium."
For now, India's petroleum stocks may be cushioned by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more immediate question is simple: how to get the next cylinder.
