The fallout from the escalating conflict between Iran and the US-Israel alliance has reached the doorsteps of the National Capital Region’s most vulnerable.

Skyrocketing LPG cylinder prices have effectively forced these daily-wage earners into a desperate corner. Unable to balance the cost of cooking gas with the cost of food, thousands of migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are now abandoning the capital and retreating to their home villages. For those earning between Rs 500 and Rs 800 a day, securing two square meals is financially impossible. The rising cost of cooking gas cylinders has transformed a basic necessity into an insurmountable burden.

Lalita Devi, a daily-wager who works in Delhi alongside her family for a monthly household income of Rs 10,000, is now compelled to return to her village in Bihar. She told Newslaundry that her family has been surviving on raw chickpeas because the local retail price of LPG has soared to Rs 400–Rs 500 per kg.

This crisis is exacerbated by the fact that most migrants lack formal domestic gas connections. Instead, they must buy gas in small quantities from local vendors. As Lalita shared, “Due to a lack of funds, I haven't even been able to purchase a train ticket.”

Lalita’s story is common across construction sites and slum clusters in the Delhi. The exodus is driven by a singular, harsh reality: the city has become unaffordable.

Uday Kumar, a construction worker from Bihar, is also packing up to leave. As he prepares to leave with his wife and two children, the heartbreak in his voice is palpable. He said, “I thought that by coming to Delhi, I would be able to educate my children so that they wouldn't have to work as daily wage labourers like me. But now, I am heading back.”

Despite earning Rs 800 a day, Uday’s finances have been shattered by the surge in the cost of living. He asks: “If a man earning Rs 800 a day has to spend Rs 400 to Rs 500 just to refill a single gas cylinder, how is he supposed to provide for his children? I have to pay room rent, buy lentils, rice, and vegetables, and also pay school fees for my children. How can all of this possibly be managed on a daily income of just Rs 800?”

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