Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Mar 12: The well-known Maharashtrian eatery Ladu Samrat in Mumbai was forced to shut its doors on Wednesday after running out of commercial LPG cylinders amid the ongoing supply disruption.

The 1,000 sq ft outlet in Lalbaug, famous for its vada pav and long queues of customers from early morning, usually opens at 7 am and sells nearly 10,000 vada pav daily along with popular snacks such as sabudana vada and misal pav.

Siddhant Rakshe, who runs the family business, said the eatery requires at least four LPG cylinders daily for its Lalbaug outlet and two additional cylinders for its sweets manufacturing unit. “We somehow managed yesterday, but today we had no option but to pull down the shutters,” he said.

The closure highlights the growing impact of the commercial LPG shortage on the city’s food businesses. Apart from the Lalbaug outlet, the family also operates a mithai manufacturing unit in Chinchpokli and two restaurants — Shobhaa Only Veg and Annamaya — both of which remained closed on Wednesday.

The Ladu Samrat brand was started in 1967 by Siddhant Rakshe’s grandfather in a small shop located in a chawl in Lalbaug. The original outlet shut after the building collapsed in an accident that also claimed the life of the family patriarch. The business was later revived by his father in 1991.

Rakshe said he had tried unsuccessfully to procure additional LPG cylinders. While the temporary shutdown is expected to cost the family business around Rs 2–3 lakh per day, he expressed greater concern for the staff employed at the establishments.

“We will recover the business. The bigger worry is the uncertainty our employees are facing,” he said.