PM Narendra Modi met the the oil and foreign ministers Monday as the LPG crisis deepened across the country amidst the ongoing Middle East conflict
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the Oil and Foreign ministers Monday as the LPG crisis deepened across the country, with hotels warning of an impending shutdown. The premier hotel body Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRA) said that the issue has become “extremely serious over the past week”.
Pradeep Shetty, VP, FHRAI and Spokesperson of Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India), said, “The shortage of commercial LPG has become extremely serious over the past week, with intermittent disruptions escalating into a near complete halt in supply in several regions since yesterday. Following the 5th March notification by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 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.
He added, “We are already receiving reports of severe shortages from cities including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, while similar disruptions are being reported in States such as Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.”
He warned, “If the situation does not improve within the next two days, nearly 50 per cent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations depending on the stock of cylinders they currently have. This will especially affect international tourists both, who are already here and those who will be visiting the country. Also, smaller and medium-sized eateries will be the first to be impacted, as they typically operate with limited reserves.”
The Centre has invoked the Essential Commodities Act to ensure regular supply of cooking gas after a commercial LPG shortage linked to global energy disruptions amid the Iran–Israel conflict has left hotels and restaurants across cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai staring at a shutdown. The order is to make sure that natural gas supply is regulated in such a way that the highest priority is given to piped natural gas for homes and CNG for vehicles.
According to sources quoted by news agency ANI, there will be “100% assured supply to domestic piped gas to homes and CNG for vehicles”. The sources also assured “80% of the previous 6-month average supply to tea industries, manufacturing, and industrial consumers connected through the natural gas grid, 80% of the previous 6-month supply to industrial and commercial natural gas consumers, and 70% of the previous 6-month average supply to fertiliser plants.”
The hospitality industry in Mumbai is also facing a growing crisis due to the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders. Industry estimates suggest that nearly 20% of hotels and restaurants have already suspended operations. Vijay Shetty, president of the India Hotels and Restaurant Association told India Today the crisis could soon paralyse the restaurant industry in Mumbai.
India consumed some 31.3 million tonnes of LPG annually. As much as 87 per cent of this is in the domestic sector i.e. household kitchens, and the rest in commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants. Of this total requirement, as much as 62 per cent is met through imports. The US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation has shut the Strait of Hormuz – the conduit through which India got 85-90 per cent of its LPG imports from countries like Saudi Arabia.
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