Pune: Several restaurants in the city downed their shutters on Wednesday as the second day of a commercial LPG shortage continued. Meanwhile, industry representatives said that the Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd (MNGL) company has offered to help eateries switch to piped gas connections to ease the crisis.The popular Modern Cafe in Shivajinagar remained closed on Wednesday after running out of LPG, and its Kharadi branch is also expected to remain shut on Thursday due to lack of supply. A representative of the restaurant confirmed the closure to TOI. “We have been shut since Wednesday morning in Shivajinagar as we ran out of gas. We don’t know when we will reopen. Right now, it is a wait-and-watch situation,” the employee said.Industry representatives said a few other eateries also reported temporary shutdowns on Wednesday after failing to secure commercial cylinders, while some chose to remain closed as part of a strategy to conserve LPG stock for the weekend, since Wednesday and Thursday are usually lean business days.Saili Jahagirdar, chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Pune, said MNGL has reached out to restaurant representatives offering to expedite piped gas connections in areas where infrastructure already exists. She said the development was discussed during a meeting with industry members on Wednesday.“MNGL officials offered to help fast-track piped gas connections for restaurants wherever feasible. They have identified around 150–200 restaurants in certain areas that may be eligible, and said they will try to complete the process in the least possible time considering the crisis. It is a govt process so it will take time, but at least they have come forward to help,” she said.Jahagirdar said many restaurant kitchens are conserving LPG stock to avoid shutting completely later in the week. “We saw purposeful shutdowns on Wednesday and we may see more, because restaurants are trying to save whatever stock they have for the weekend. Thursday is usually a slower day, so some kitchens are choosing not to operate fully so that they can continue through the weekend,” she said.She added that many restaurants are also trying temporary alternatives such as electric cooking. “More than half the restaurants are trying options like induction plates, electric cooktops or pellet stoves. Demand has gone up so much that induction cooktops are going out of stock in many places. Everyone is trying to run kitchens in hybrid mode,” she said.Praful Chandawarkar, founder and director of Malaka Spice, said the shortage is already forcing operational changes. “It is not easy to suddenly switch to electric cooking. Power consumption is high and the kitchen has to be reset. We may have to cut down the menu to only the most popular items. We are preparing for a crisis but trying to keep functioning,” he said.He said some restaurants have already shut due to lack of supply. “At least five restaurants I know were shut today as vendors could not supply gas and there was no time to shift to electric cooking. It is a serious situation, and if supply does not improve, more places may have to shut because domestic supply will get priority,” he said.Abhishek Sahai, general manager, Conrad Pune, said the LPG disruption has already started affecting hotel kitchen operations. “Since our kitchens run on LPG, the supply disruption impacts all operations. We are scrambling to source cylinders from the market and waiting for regular supplies to resume. We have had to curtail operations and modify menus. For example, equipment that consumes more LPG has been shut, and we are depending more on electric equipment. At present, our stock will last only about three days, and if supplies are not normalised, we may have to take further steps,” he admitted.
