LPG shortage forces closure of over 100 Kochi hotels

LPG shortage leads to the closure of over 100 hotels in Kochi, with remaining eateries limiting menu options amid the crisis.

Over a 100 hotels in Kochi city in Kerala have downed shutters as the LPG crisis deepens in the wake of the ongoing West Asia conflict, triggering a cascading effect across multiple sectors.

Even eateries that remain open have pared down menus to avoid a complete shutdown, restricting certain items to specific time slots. Several hotel brands have issued social media advisories urging customers to cooperate. Tawa-based dishes have virtually disappeared, given the high LPG consumption the appliance entails.

“Hotels across the State have not received a single load in the past three days, with the government strictly rationing commercial cylinders to prioritise domestic consumers. In Ernakulam alone, hotels consume around 25,000 to 30,000 cylinders a month,” said T.J. Manoharan, State secretary of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Samridhi@Kochi, a chain of budget eateries run jointly by the Kochi Corporation and Kudumbashree Mission, has switched to firewood stoves after exhausting its last lot of 30-odd cylinders.

Meanwhile, LPG distributors are facing public ire as the gap between booking and delivery of domestic cylinders has widened from two days to nearly a week. “Customers are unable to book refills through IVRS, while distributors cannot log onto the portal to place orders as the software crashes amid country-wide log in attempts in the wake of the crisis and resultant panic. Without digital refill booking details, which are otherwise delivered to mobile phones of customers, delivery staff are finding it tough to deliver cylinders to eligible customers,” said George Mathew, president of the Kerala chapter of the All Kerala Indane Dealers Association.

One dealer, who requested anonymity, said he was even considering seeking “police protection” as agitated customers continue to throng his agency. Petroleum companies continue to claim that there is no shortage though the ground reality appears different. His outlet, which earlier received up to eight loads in six weeks, now gets only three.