Samridhi@Kochi, a subsidised canteen run by the Kochi Municipal Corporation (a city-government-operated affordable dining initiative in Kerala, southern India) in partnership with the Kudumbashree women's self-help network, is considering raising prices after state-owned oil companies hiked the cost of 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders by ₹993 (roughly $12), effective 1 May. The eatery, which currently serves meals for as little as ₹20, is exploring keeping that price unchanged while raising the cost of tea and snacks, though daily operating expenses have already climbed by around ₹25,000 due to the gas price surge. A supply disruption linked to the West Asia conflict has also forced Samridhi to supplement cooking gas with up to 600 kg of firewood daily — a stopgap that officials say is costly, logistically difficult, and gruelling for kitchen workers.