BENGALURU: Representatives of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels’ Association (BBHA) and officials of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bengaluru division, on Wednesday met Chief Secretary (CS) Shalini Rajneesh and apprised her of the tough situation being faced by the restaurants and other eateries because of the ongoing commercial gas cylinder shortage. They urged her to ensure supply of at least 50% of the normal requirement to ease the situation.
The Association’s President PC Rao said the IOC officials expressed their helplessness, saying that the 20% stoppage was done on the direction of the Central government. “If the government issues a direction to release commercial gas cylinders, the IOC will resume supply,” he said, adding that the CS has assured them to look into the matter and send a data-based report to the Central government.
Rao said the situation has become more grave as around 10 hotels have been closed in Bengaluru due to non availability of commercial gas cylinders, and many hotels have trimmed their menus. He said owners are worried that their workers will return to their native places if the hotels are shut for a longer duration. “Once they leave, it is difficult to say whether they will return or not. It is very difficult to fill the gap in the workforce, which is the backbone of the hotel industry.”
According to the association, Bengaluru has at least 30,000 medium-range hotels. “We have received information that around 10 hotels dependent on commercial gas cylinders have been closed, and if the situation continues for another day or two, hundreds more may have to shut down. In Bengaluru, the commercial gas cylinder supply is almost nil.”
