Prayagraj: City restaurants, hotels, and eateries are switching to PNG connections to beat the commercial LPG cylinder shortage. Many have already installed PNG facilities, while others are following suit.Harjinder Singh, president of the Prayagraj Hotels and Restaurants Association, said most hotels plan to get PNG pipeline connections and will approach authorities starting Tuesday. “In posh Civil Lines and adjoining areas, prominent hotels, restaurants and eateries have PNG connections, but others are now planning to shift towards PNG pipelines instead of commercial LPG cylinders,” he said.There are around 1,000 hotels and restaurants operating in Sangam City. The West Asia conflict has disrupted commercial LPG supply, hitting Prayagraj’s hotel and restaurant scene hard. At least a dozen small eateries have shut down in the past 10 days due to cylinder shortages.The commercial LPG cylinder crisis affected hotels and restaurants as they failed to maintain the supply chain after Holi. Once the stock was over, they either shifted to commercial induction stoves or coal stoves to run their units. However, finding no better solution, they have decided to shift to PNG.An owner of a prominent restaurant told TOI, “The administration has decided to supply commercial LPG cylinders to hostels, educational institutions and old age homes, and we still have to wait for it.” He added that authorities should fast-track PNG connections for hotels and restaurants, just like Gujarat did.Last week, the Gujarat govt had decided to provide new PNG (piped natural gas) connections to restaurants, hotels, educational institutes and socio-religious institutions located in areas where the pipeline distribution network is available, if they apply for the facility, in the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.Restaurants are struggling as commercial LPG stocks run dry. With cylinders scarce even in the grey market, owners are being forced to switch to induction stoves, coal stoves, or shut down.Authorities are working to clear the backlog and closely monitoring gas agencies and distributors. An official stated there is no crisis, and domestic LPG cylinder supplies are normal. The backlog is attributed to high bookings and server issues that lasted at least two days.Queues for domestic LPG cylinders were shorter on Tuesday, but distributors said the backlog will ease only once the supply chain is back on track.
