CHENNAI/ MADURAI: The shortage of commercial LPG cylinder has paved the way for the return of the firewood, as many a restaurant and small eatery across the state have turned to the traditional way for cooking needs.
K Sermapandi Nadar, whose family has been running a firewood shop on Dr Natesan Road in Mylapore for 35 years, said sales of coal and casuarina firewood have doubled since the LPG crisis began. “Earlier I used to sell nearly 500kg of coal a day; now it has increased to around 750kg. The quantity of logs that I sell also doubled, from 2 tonnes to 4 tonnes,” he said. He said he usually supplies to around 20 restaurants, many of which have doubled their purchase, adding some high-end restaurants have also started buying from him. A private school also placed orders on Friday evening, he said.
M Govindaraj, a second-generation wholesale firewood seller, said hostels and small biriyani shops with enough open space have begun their purchase, adding some mosques are also buying firewood from him for making ‘nonbu kanji’.
S Thangaraj, a firewood vendor in Kolathur said he is selling 25 kg of casuarina wood for Rs 450 now (Rs 18 per kg), compared to Rs 400 earlier.
N Swamikannu, another small-scale seller, said his two-tonne stock of firewood was sold out in just three days, and he continues to receive calls from eateries. Firewood seller P Muthumumaran from Kasimedu said a popular biriyani outlet has doubled its purchase from 10 tonnes to nearly 20 tonnes a day.
The sellers source casuarina firewood from Cuddalore, Tindivanam, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Tiruchy and Pudukkottai, and also from Andhra Pradesh. Muthumaran added sourcing firewood from AP has become costlier by nearly Rs 2,000 per tonne.
A small biryani shop owner in Mylapore said only a few eateries, which have an open space around, could switch to firewood. “Out of 25 small shops I know, only four could make the shift, while others have closed down. Many fear losing employees if they shut down,” he said.
A hotelier in Madurai said the shift to firewood has increased the running costs and has forced price hike.
The traders said rates of firewood have gone up from about Rs 3,000-4,000 per tonne to nearly Rs 10,000 in recent days. Prasanna, a trader at Mattuthavani, said dozens of truckloads of firewood arriving daily from Ramanathapuram district are being sold out within hours. Prices vary by type of wood, with seemai karuvelam costing Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per tonne, while better-quality wood fetches close to Rs 10,000, he said.
Basker Badmanaban, a trader from Paramakudi, said labour shortage for wood cutting and transport is also affecting supply, adding transporting one tonne from Ramanathapuram to Madurai costs about Rs 800.
(With inputs from Praveena S A and Sinduja Jane @ Chennai)