Bhopal: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday urged the Madhya Pradesh administration to immediately restore a limited supply of commercial LPG cylinders to prevent the “complete shutdown” of the hospitality and food service sector in Bhopal.
The traders’ body warned that if the supply is not restored within days, the entire hospitality sector in the state capital could face closure, threatening thousands of livelihoods and disrupting the food supply.
CAIT Bhopal district president Dharmendra Sharma, in a statement, said that the hospitality sector should be treated as an essential service, similar to its status during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The West Asia conflict has impacted the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow water passage between Iran and Oman.
With the ongoing crisis in West Asia causing an LPG crunch in the country, the CAIT urged authorities to take a pragmatic approach to prevent the hospitality sector from shutting down.
“If the situation continues for a few more days, the entire hospitality and food service sector in Bhopal may face closure, hitting thousands of livelihoods and disrupting daily food services for citizens,” Sharma said.
He noted that while business owners have placed orders for induction-based cooking systems as an alternative, the equipment may take seven to ten days to arrive, and pointed out that restaurants would also need to increase their power capacity to operate such systems, which cannot be done immediately, making the option impractical.
Sharma said the administration’s suggestion to switch to wood-fire cooking was also not feasible, as most hotel and restaurant kitchens are designed for modern gas-based systems.
“Installing wood-fired stoves in these kitchens is neither technically possible nor appropriate from safety and hygiene perspectives,” he said.
The CAIT demanded that a limited supply of commercial LPG cylinders be restored immediately to ensure hotels, restaurants and sweet shops don’t shut down completely.
Hospitals and other essential services have been given priority in LPG supply, and the food service sector should also get similar limited relief to ensure the city’s food supply system is not disrupted, Sharma said.
