Thiruvananthapuram, March 11 Several hotels and restaurants have closed down, and many more are on the verge of closure in Kerala, following a severe shortage of commercial LPG in the country due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The shortage of commercial cooking gas has worsened in recent days, disrupting kitchen operations in many eateries across the state.
A medium-sized hotel typically requires at least eight LPG cylinders a day for cooking, but currently, only about five are being supplied by distributors, according to those running such establishments.
Many hotel owners have compared the present situation to the COVID-19 crisis that hit the sector a few years ago, describing LPG cylinders as the "lifeblood" of their kitchens.
Krishnakumar, a co-owner of a well-known vegetarian hotel in the state capital, said that more than 50 per cent of hotels in the city have remained closed since Tuesday following the crisis.
"A hotel run by my wife was closed on Tuesday. This hotel (a separate one) will be closed today or tomorrow. The supply of cylinders we had for the past three days has already been exhausted. It will be difficult to continue operations if the supply situation does not improve immediately," he told reporters here.
He said that several establishments have already made changes to their menus to conserve the limited gas stock.
"We could not serve Chinese dishes since Tuesday. We have now stopped regular meals as well. As several usual dishes were unavailable, many customers left after placing orders," he said.
A hotelier in Kochi said that switching to traditional firewood stoves was not possible as many had dismantled such facilities recently following observations by Food Safety Department officials.
"We do not know what to do. Everyone has bank loans and we also have to pay salaries to employees. Even if the Centre brings LPG from other countries, it will take at least a month," he said.
He sought clarification from the authorities on how long the establishments would be forced to remain closed and urged the government to announce a timeline to resolve the crisis.
A hotel owner in northern Kannur also expressed similar concerns.
"We may be able to manage for another two days at most. If LPG has to be imported from other countries to stabilise supply, it could take nearly a month, which will deepen the crisis," he said.
Manaf, district secretary of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) in Alappuzha, said that at least 25 hotels in the coastal district were closed on Wednesday alone.
He said that around 10 hotels had shut operations on Tuesday in Alappuzha, a major tourist destination that has over 3,000 eateries in various categories, including restaurants and cafes.
"Authorities have suggested switching to electric or firewood stoves and making changes in menus to address the crisis. However, only about five per cent of hotels have facilities to use firewood stoves," he added.
Razak NMR, state general secretary of the KHRA, said that the association does not have authentic data yet on the total number of hotels closed across the state so far.
"We have issued a circular to collect the exact figures. As per the information available now, a large number of hotels and restaurants have shut across Kerala," he said.
More than one lakh establishments operate in the food production, service and distribution sector in the state, he added.
"The ongoing crisis is not as small as many think. Its impact on the society may go beyond our calculations. We request the authorities to immediately find a practical solution to resolve it," Razak said.