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Amid ongoing Middle East war, the supply of oil and gas has been interrupted at the large scale which results in hampering the Indian hotel business. In Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, the hotel and restaurants industries body have flagged LPG cylinders supply disruptions due to ongoing war.

Last Saturday, the LPG cylinder prices were also increased. Middle East war results Rs 60 raise in cooking gas Rs 115 in commercial LPG cylinders.

LPG Crisis In Bangalore Hotels

gascrisis(Image Source: ANI)

Beginning Tuesday, March 10, hotel and restaurant services throughout Bengaluru are expected to face disruptions, according to a statement released by the city’s Hotels Association on Monday.

"Since the gas supply has stopped, the hotels will be closed from tomorrow," the association said in a statement.

"Since the hotel industry is an essential service, common people, students, and medical professionals, who rely on the hotels for daily meals, will be affected," it said.

"In addition, our hotel industry will also face difficulties until the gas supply returns to normal," association added.

The Bengaluru association expressed deep frustration, noting that the sudden halt in supply came as a "major shock" to the hospitality sector, especially since oil companies had previously promised a 70-day guarantee of consistent gas availability.

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Chennai Hotels Association Alarm On Crisis

The Chennai Hotels Association has sounded an even louder alarm, warning that the supply crisis has "now reached a critical tipping point" for the city's food industry.

"The food industry works on a 24 by 7 basis for many hospitals who require the food to be supplied on time besides IT Parks, students at college hostels, train and business travellers will all be affected, if the supply of commercial LPG is hindered," association cited in letter to PM Modi.

Chennai hotel association's president M Ravi urged PM Modi for uniteruppted supplies of LPG for food industries.

Mumbai’s Hospitality Sectors Hit Hard

The energy crisis has hit Mumbai’s hospitality sector hard, with a critical shortage of commercial LPG forcing nearly 20 per cent of hotels and restaurants to pull down their shutters.

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The impact is visible in the city's culinary landscape, as legendary eateries in Dadar, Andheri, and Matunga have started trimming their menus. To conserve fuel, many have stopped serving labor-intensive, slow-cooked favorites like Dal Makhani and Rava Dosa, focusing instead on dishes that require less time on the stove.

On Monday, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India FHRAI also flagged the shortage of commercial cooking gas cylinders.

Government Reaction LPG Supplies

To combat the growing crisis, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has directed oil refineries to ramp up LPG output, prioritising the domestic market for this additional supply.

In a move to curb hoarding and black marketing, the Ministry has also implemented a mandatory 25-day gap between cylinder bookings. This measure is intended to ensure a fairer distribution of fuel during the current shortage.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said, "Non-domestic supplies from imported LPG is being prioritised to essential non domestic sectors such as Hospitals and Educational institutions,".

"For LPG supply to other non-domestic sectors, a committee of three EDs of OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) have been constituted to review the representations for LPG supply to restaurants/hotels/other industries," it said on X.

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said commercial LPG cylinder suppliers were expressing their inability to meet the supply needs of the restaurant industry, which was "severely impacting" it, and urged the government to intervene on the issue. "As per news articles, the Government has clarified that there is no ban on supply of commercial LPG cylinders for the restaurant industry. However, the ground situation is different, with suppliers expressing inability to supply the same. This is severely impacting the restaurant industry and in turn supply of food as an essential service for citizens. We request urgent clarification or intervention," NRAI said in a post on X.


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