Bengaluru: Commercial LPG hits Rs 5,000 in black market; hotels contemplate price hike

Bengaluru: The ripple effects of the West Asia conflict are sending the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder soaring to a staggering Rs 5,000 in the black market. While the official rate is around Rs 1,700, the sudden supply crunch has forced city hoteliers to either hike food prices or shut their doors due to what they say is black market exploitation.

The hotel industry has expressed deep resentment toward the state government and regulatory authorities for failing to curb the black-marketing of the essential fuel.

Hoteliers allege that while the shortage is real, local distributors are looting them by creating an artificial scarcity. “If we don’t pay Rs 5,000, they simply don’t deliver. We are caught between a rock and a hard place, either we lose our daily labourers by closing down, or we pass on the cost to the customer,” a hotel owner said.

“If a Rs 1,700 cylinder is being sold for Rs 5,000 in broad daylight, where are the food and civil supplies officials? This is open loot,” a member of a local hotel owners’ association asked.

Hotel associations are now calling for urgent government intervention to crack down on hoarders and stabilise the prices of essential commodities before the common man’s breakfast becomes a luxury.