Mumbai: Hotel Free India at Jacob Circle, known for its kheema and butter chicken, has pulled down shutters. A popular veg restaurant Nanumal Bhojraj’s Masjid Bunder outlet was open Tuesday morning but shut down after it ran out of gas; New Edward Restaurant’s Shaan Chinese on D N Road was closed the entire day; Udupi Niketan in Bombay Central reduced the number of dishes it served and curtailed service timings. These are examples of disruption in the restaurant sector in Mumbai where the West Asia war has impacted commercial gas cylinder supplies. A growing shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has forced several eateries in the Mumbai region to scale back operations. Chinese dishes and tawa recipes which require cooking on high flame were the first to go. Industry bodies say nearly 20% of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai are fully or partially shut due to lack of cooking gas and warn that up to 50–60% establishments may close in the next couple of days if the supply crisis continues.Hidayatulla Ismail Dukka, manager at Free India restaurant, said, “There has been no cylinder supply since Monday. Hence we decided to close from today.” Akshay Shetty of Udupi Niketan said he reduced the number of dishes and curtailed service for popular ones such as dosas and idlis which sell in larger quantities on low margins. “The reason is the price of LPG cylinders have suddenly skyrocketed,” said Shetty. Many small and mid-sized eateries have run out of cooking gas stock, leaving kitchen staff idle and uncertain about operations. Hoteliers alleged that shortage has triggered black marketing of LPG cylinders at around Rs 3,000 each in the grey market, far higher than the normal price of around Rs 1,700, which was recently increased to roughly Rs 1,840 following the Gulf crisis.However, no impact is seen so far on piped natural gas supply to commercial and industrial customers, said an official from Mahanagar Gas Ltd. A section of hotels and restaurants also operate on piped gas.The Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association (AHAR), which represents nearly 8,000 small restaurants, permit rooms and hotels across Maharashtra, said the crisis was exacerbated by an order from the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas saying additional provisions of LPG should be reserved only for domestic use. In the order of priority, the govt has signalled the need to first ensure uninterrupted supply to the domestic sector. An official from an oil marketing company said: “Steps have been taken to enhance LPG production and prioritise its availability for domestic consumers. Along with domestic users, it has been decided to make supplies as per requirement to essential non-domestic sectors such as hospitals, educational institutions.”The official further said: “For LPG supply to other non-domestic sectors, a committee of three executive directors of oil marketing companies—Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL—have been constituted to review the representations and prioritise LPG supply based on merit, necessity, and product availability.”However, industry bodies say the bulk of small restaurants and roadside outlets, which provide affordable meals to a large workforce as well as students and tourists, operate with limited reserves of fuel. According to AHAR, the industry also provides around 40 lakh direct jobs and nearly 1.6 crore indirect or self-employment opportunities across Maharashtra, making it a critical sector for the economy.AHAR said it has written to Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri highlighting the situation and suggesting that the industry may manage with up to 25% curtailment, but not complete stoppage. Hoteliers also met Maharashtra food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who assured them he would take up the matter with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and relevant authorities.Pradeep Shetty, vice-president of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, “Following the March 5 notification from the ministry, there has been considerable confusion among suppliers and distributors, many of whom have stopped supplying commercial LPG cylinders to hotels, restaurants and food service establishments.”Shetty said shortages were being reported from Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur. Disruptions were also emerging in Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra. “If the situation does not improve in the next two days, nearly 50% of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations,” he said.Restaurant owners pointed out that alternatives such as electric or induction-based cooking are not viable for commercial kitchens that rely on high-intensity cooking typical of Indian cuisine; new systems would also require significant investment and infrastructure changes. They are now hoping for urgent intervention by govt to restore LPG supply. (With inputs from Somit Sen)
