Festive spirit hit as Bengaluru hotels struggle for LPG supply

Bengaluru: Shortage of LPG cylinders dampened festive fervour of Ugadi and Ramzan this year.

As the ripple effects of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East hit local supply chains, the food industry is staring at a shutdown and many hotels are forced to revert to the wood-fired stoves to keep their shutters open.

From Malleswaram to the food hubs of JP Nagar and Rajajinagar, the narrative is same. At the famous ‘Holige Mane’ in Malleswaram, despite a massive demand for the festive delicacy, production was slashed by over 60%.

“Usually, we prepare 7,000 holiges for the festival. This year, with no gas, we managed only 2,000 using firewood. People were standing in 100-meter long queues, but we simply couldn’t meet the demand,” a staff member said.

The crisis has forced a downsizing of menus at hotels across the city. At another popular restaurant, a menu that typically boasts over 40 varieties has been cut to a mere seven or eight items. The establishment has deployed diesel-fired stoves and electric heaters for tea and coffee, but the cost and heat are becoming unbearable for the kitchen staff.

The situation is worse for non-vegetarian hotels, especially during the festive season traditionally marked by meat feasts. “We cannot make deep-fried items like kebabs on wood fires, the temperature control isn’t there, and the food gets charred,” explained a hotel owner in Rajajinagar.

The price of cylinders in the black market has skyrocketed. While a 19-kg commercial cylinder is nearly impossible to procure, some consumers reported being asked to pay as much as Rs 8,000. In desperation, many small eateries have switched to 5-kg cylinders, which run out in a matter of hours.

The Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA) and hotel owners have now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an urgent intervention. The letter highlights the threat to the livelihoods of thousands of staff members and requests an audience to discuss the immediate restoration of commercial LPG supplies.

At several agencies across the city, boards have been put up displaying a disparity between demand and supply. “We have over 5,100 bookings pending, but our current stock is barely 460 cylinders,” said an agency manager in the city.

“Earlier, we received two loads a day, now we are lucky if we get one load every two days. We are prioritising old bookings from early March, but the public is getting restless and aggressive.”