Haridwar, March 16 -- A severe shortage of commericial LPG cylinders, triggered by the conflict in West Asia, has forced more than a dozen ashrams, dharamshalas, and mutts in Haridwar to suspend their mass food kitchens (bhandaras), leaving thousands of saints and pilgrims without daily meals, managers of these establishments said. The crisis stems from disruptions in commercial LPG cylinder supplies and restrictions on domestic cylinder bookings, severely hampering community meal preparation at religious institutions. Officials and ashram managers report that the shortage has shut down over a dozen mass food kitchens run by various ashrams, akhadas, and religious organisations in the past week, owing to the non-availability of commercial cylinders and limited domestic LPG supplies. At Geeta Kutir Ashram in Haripur Kalan, which serves free meals daily to saints, elderly residents, and students, managers warn the open kitchen may close soon if the shortage persists. "Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued to serve food to a large number of people. Every day, around 800 saints, 60 residents of our old-age home, nearly 100 Sanskrit students and over 100 ashram members are provided free meals. But due to the cap on LPG cylinders and non-availability of commercial cylinders, we are now on the verge of closing the charitable kitchen," said Shiv Das Dubey, manager of Geeta Kutir Ashram....