LPG shortage: 50% hotels, restaurants in Mumbai may shut operations after two days

'The commercial LPG shortage has become extremely serious over the past week, with intermittent disruptions escalating into a near complete halt in supply in several regions,' FHRAI said.

Mumbai: Describing the commercial LPG shortage as “extremely serious,” the apex body of India's hotel and restaurant sector said on Tuesday that in the next couple of days nearly 50 percent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations, depending on their current cylinder stock.

“The commercial LPG shortage has become extremely serious over the past week, with intermittent disruptions escalating into a near complete halt in supply in several regions since yesterday. Following the March 5 notification by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, considerable confusion has arisen among suppliers and distributors, many of whom have stopped supplying commercial LPG cylinders to hotels, restaurants and food service establishments,” said Pradeep Shetty, Vice President, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and spokesperson for the Hotel & Restaurant Association-Western India (HRAWI).

“We are already receiving reports of severe shortage from cities including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, while similar disruptions are reported in States such as Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. If the situation does not improve within the next two days, nearly 50 percent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations depending on their current cylinder stock,” he said.

According to him, this will especially affect international tourists, both those already here and those who will be visiting the country. “Also, smaller and medium-sized eateries will be the first to be impacted, as they typically operate with limited reserves,” he said.

“The hospitality sector is an essential service that caters to millions of people every day including working professionals, students and both domestic and international travellers, and it supports a vast ecosystem of employment through cloud kitchens, industrial kitchens and catering establishments. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector was rightly recognised as essential, and its role in supporting urban food supply remains critical,” he added.

“While alternatives such as electric or induction-based cooking are gradually emerging, they are not yet viable for most commercial kitchens that rely on the high-intensity, fast-paced cooking methods typical of Indian cuisine. Transitioning to such systems also involves significant cost and infrastructure changes. At present, the industry has no practical alternative and urgently requires the restoration of uninterrupted commercial LPG supply to ensure that hotels, restaurants and food service establishments can continue operating without disruption,” he said.