THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A supply crunch of commercial LPG cylinders has hit hotels and restaurants in the city as disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict force oil companies to prioritise domestic cooking gas supply.
Several hotel owners said they have been unable to procure commercial cylinders for the past three days and their remaining stock will last only for a short period. Many restaurants across the capital city are on the verge of closure and warn that they may shut down within two days, if supplies are not restored. Some even have also stopped accepting orders from online food delivery platforms due to the limited capacity to prepare food.
K P Balakrishna Pothuval, patron of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said nearly 90% of hotels may be forced to shut down if commercial LPG supplies are not restored immediately. “Hotels that depend entirely on LPG will not be able to survive. Only those that can cook using firewood or electricity may continue operations,”said Balakrishna Pothuval.
Many hotel owners said the cooking gas shortage has forced them to reduce menu and suspend preparation of items that consume large amounts of gas. Dishes like porotta and chapathi, which require continuous high-flame cooking, have been temporarily halted in some eateries.
“Even if we require just one cylinder to run the business for the day, it is not available,” said Kunjumon Sagara, owner of Sagara Restaurant in Vazhuthacaud.
Adding that the hospitality sector employs nearly 15 to 20 lakh workers, he said the crisis is even more severe than what the hotel industry faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
V S Biju, owner of Krishna Hotel, said they are preparing to shut down them. “We have stock only till Thursday. Two of my hotels, one in Kazhakkuttam and the other in Pettah, will be closed on Wednesday, and the one in Sasthamangalam will be shut down on Thursday,” said Biju. He said, the crisis is particularly worrying as hotels still have to meet regular expenses. “We have to pay electricity, water bills and rent even if the shop is closed. Every hotel is facing this problem and many have been closed earlier this week,” he added.
Restaurant owners also expressed concern about the impact on migrant workers who form a significant portion of the workforce in the hospitality sector. “If these workers lose their jobs and find work elsewhere, it may become difficult to bring them back when the situation improves,” they said.
According to them, the gas shortage has also affected other sectors linked to the restaurant industry, including suppliers of vegetables, meat and fish, who depend on bulk purchases from hotels.
