Noida protests as Strait of Hormuz disruptions push LPG prices
Noida and other industrial hubs in northern India are seeing major protests as cooking gas prices shoot up, thanks to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict.
With liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, now costing eight times more on the black market, many workers, like Sanjit Kumar, are struggling to cover household expenses.
LPG supply tight despite government measures
The government is trying to ease things by boosting local gas production and importing through other routes, but supplies are still tight (only 10 LPG tankers have arrived since the war started, compared with a prewar average of 50 LPG tankers per month).
Price caps on petrol and diesel offer some short-term relief, but undocumented migrant workers aren't getting subsidies.
Raids are underway against black-market sellers, yet worries about wage stagnation remain high, raising questions about how these disruptions could slow down India's push for more manufacturing jobs.