Chennai: A month into the ongoing LPG shortage in the city, hundreds of small eateries and tea shops have either shut down or sharply increased prices, leaving customers paying almost double for basic items such as tea, coffee and snacks. The situation has worsened over the past week, with even those eateries relying on domestic cylinders now struggling to procure any type of LPG. With no gas to cook, many roadside shops across Nungambakkam, Vadapalani, T Nagar, Velachery, Pallavaram and Tambaram have downed shutters, displaying notices that cylinders are unavailable.There is also steep price variations across local eateries. In Nungambakkam, the price for a cup of tea increased from 12 to 20, while in Tambaram it is being sold for as high as 25. In Adyar, snacks such as samosa, bajji, bonda and bread omelette are now being sold at nearly double their earlier prices. A bread omelette that once cost 40 -60 is now 100 in several outlets.Despite these increases, hotel and tea shop associations have denied any collective decision to hike prices. Tea shop owners association secretary V Kamaraj from Tambaram said, “Despite a growing demand for cylinders in the city, no decision has been made by the association to increase the prices of tea and coffee. Shops, however, can decide the selling price themselves.” The shortage has also led to a surge in black market prices for commercial LPG cylinders. Traders say prices have jumped from around 3,000 to 5,000 in recent weeks, and have now touched 7,000, making it unaffordable for many small vendors.M Sudhakar, a tea shop owner in Pallavaram, said the crisis has made operations unsustainable. “We used to buy commercial cylinders for 1,800. Even 3,000 was manageable, but beyond that it is very difficult. We booked a cylinder 25 days ago, but haven’t received replacement yet. We will have to shut the shop until we get gas,” he said.
