New Delhi, April 10 The canteen at the Sports Authority of India's headquarters here has been closed after the vendor complained of a shortage of LPG supply, although a well-placed source said this is more likely due to the "high prices he has been quoting".
The canteen on the SAI campus inside the sprawling Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium has been closed for almost a month, according to a well-placed source.
"Initially, the vendor said he would only serve tea due to the LPG shortage, but even that has stopped now. Staff members who rely on the canteen are currently managing by eating at nearby outlets," said the source.
However, the suspension of the canteen's operations will not affect athletes who train at the stadium, as they eat at the stadium's mess, which remains fully functional.
Canteens at SAI's National Centres of Excellence across the country are also functioning normally, and no shortage of cooking gas has been reported so far.
The vendor reportedly took over the canteen's operation only a few months ago.
"The prices being quoted by this vendor were also quite high, and he didn't really have an explanation for why he was charging so much. So he does have a grievance about being questioned," said another SAI source.
"In large meetings involving the minister and the SAI Director General, the canteen serves tea and snacks like Dhokla, some cashews, and a sweet. He was charging Rs 425 per plate for this.
"The DG (Hari Ranjan Rao) learned about this, put an end to the whole thing, and questioned these prices," the source added.
The LPG crisis has been triggered by the ongoing military conflict in West Asia, which was triggered by the American and Israeli bombing of Iran. The war has affected supply chains in India, which is heavily reliant on imports for its LPG requirements.
Reports have been trickling in from several parts of the country in which commercial establishments and individual consumers have complained of a scarcity of cooking gas.