"Surat textile workers hit by LPG crisis", 24 March 2026

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The West Asia conflict's impact is being felt acutely in industrial cities such as Surat, home to lakhs of migrant workers — from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal — employed in the highly unorganised textile sector...

... a significant number of these workers, who lack gas connections due to insufficient documentation, are struggling to cook and are being forced to return home.  Railway stations in Surat are crowded, with large numbers of migrant workers lining up to return home, largely due to the cooking gas crisis and uncertainty surrounding textile mills that are planning to cut production.

The conflict has led to a rise in crude oil prices, which has in turn increased the cost of petroleum-based yarn products such as polyester and nylon.

"It has affected the entire textile supply chain, right from garment-manufacturing to packaging and sales, while demand has also declined. Our mills, which use coal as fuel, have also been impacted as its import from Indonesia has been affected due to the conflict," said South Gujarat Textile Processors Association president Jitendra Vakharia.

Surat-based Gujarat Sangharsh Majdoor Union's general secretary Sharad Zagade told DH: "Most of these workers do not earn more than Rs 15,000 a month. Today, if they want to buy cooking gas, they have to pay Rs 4,000-5,000 on the black market for the same cylinders that normally cost barely Rs 1,000. Additionally, there is growing uncertainty as factories are trying to reduce production."...