BENGALURU: Bengaluru hotels will not be shutting down,” said PC Rao, Honorary President of Bangalore Hotels Association (BHA) amidst the rumours of the hotels being closed, adding that even if the hotels were closed we are ensuring that it will be opened for services despite the supply crisis in the commercial LPG cylinders.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Rao said that hotels serve a large section of the city’s population, including bachelors, office-goers, IT employees, hospital staff and other residents who depend on eateries for daily meals, hence will not be closed.
The association said the hospitality sector requires about 22,000 to 25,000 commercial LPG cylinders a day, but the supply has dropped significantly in recent days. Currently, only a fraction of the requirement is being released as LPG distribution is being prioritised for domestic households and essential institutions such as hospitals, anganwadis and hostel kitchens.
Hotel representatives said they had held discussions with senior officials, including Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, seeking urgent intervention to restore supplies. They said the industry would be able to function if at least 50% of the usual gas requirement is provided, that is around 10,000 to 12,000 cylinders. Many eateries have already begun limiting food options and using alternative cooking methods such as induction stoves to manage with the available resources.
The association said it has also explored alternative options and contacted departments, including the forest department for firewood, to examine possible solutions. He also added that they received information from suppliers indicating that shipments of LPG had recently arrived and that the situation could improve once the gas reaches distributors and hotels receive confirmed cylinder allocations.
While acknowledging that some hotels have closed temporarily due to the shortage, the association urged owners not to shut down and instead operate with restricted menus if necessary.
1,800 city hotels run on GAIL connections
BHA on Thursday said that around 1,800 hotels in Bengaluru operate using gas connections supplied by Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) through piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG). The association said it had helped reopen a hotel that had shut down due to the ongoing LPG shortage. It added that it is planned to request for support from hotels with GAIL connections to provide support to establishments facing supply issues by sharing basic resources and cooking limited food items, which can then be supplied to affected hotels