The shortage of commercial LPG has become extremely serious over the past week, with intermittent disruptions escalating into a near complete halt in supply in several regions since yesterday, said Pradeep Shetty, VP, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and spokesperson, Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India).
Shetty said following the notification dated March 5 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, there has been ‘considerable confusion’ among suppliers and distributors, many of whom have stopped supplying commercial LPG cylinders to hotels, restaurants and food service establishments.
He said the industry associations are receiving reports of ‘severe’ shortages from cities including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, while similar disruptions are being reported in states such as Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“If the situation does not improve within the next two days, nearly 50 per cent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations depending on the stock of cylinders they currently have,” he said.
“This will especially affect international tourists both, who are already here and those who will be visiting the country. Also, smaller and medium-sized eateries will be the first to be impacted, as they typically operate with limited reserves,” he added.
Shetty said while alternatives such as electric or induction-based cooking are gradually emerging, they are not yet viable for most commercial kitchens that rely on high-intensity, fast-paced cooking methods typical of Indian cuisine.
“Transitioning to such systems also involves significant cost and infrastructure changes,” he said.
“At present, the industry has no practical alternative and urgently requires restoration of uninterrupted commercial LPG supply to ensure that hotels, restaurants and food service establishments can continue operating without disruption,” he added.>
