LPG crunch amid West Asia War hits Shillong’s most vulnerable
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 25: For the first time in years, the hearth at Aahar has gone cold—its silence carrying the weight of a crisis that stretches far beyond Shillong.
After 3,858 days of uninterrupted service, the community kitchen was forced to suspend operations indefinitely on Wednesday as LPG supplies dried up, with the disruption being linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The halt comes even as official claims maintain that adequate supplies are available, a position that appears increasingly at odds with the situation on the ground, where essential cooking fuel has become difficult to access.
Launched in 2018 by the Ardhendu Chaudhuri Charitable Trust (ACCT), Aahar had become a quiet lifeline for nearly 200 people every day at the Jhalupara Taxi Stand. For just Rs 5, it offered a simple vegetarian meal—served with consistency, dignity and care, without interruption for years.
That continuity has now been broken.
Members of Team Aahar said while their staff may pause, their concern is firmly with those who depended on the meal as a daily certainty. For many, it was not just food—it was survival with dignity.
Trustee member Vibuthi Chakraborty said with visible anguish that this is the first time the service has stopped, and not for lack of effort. He stated that the team reached out to multiple agencies and outlets in search of LPG cylinders, but none could be secured.
For years, he said, over 200 people were fed without fail. Today, that chain has snapped, leaving their access to a meal tied to the uncertain availability of cooking gas.
The disruption has also exposed how global events can ripple down to the most local realities. A conflict unfolding thousands of kilometres away has now reached a small kitchen in Shillong, interrupting a service that stood as a symbol of compassion and consistency.
Yet, there is no sense of closure—only a pause marked by hope.
The team expressed its intent to resume operations as soon as LPG supplies are restored. Until then, Aahar remains silent, its absence felt most by those who counted on it every single day.
