Shillong, March 11 Hotel owners in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, have appealed to the East Khasi Hills district administration to restore commercial LPG supply following a disruption in the supply of cooking gas to hotels and restaurants.
In a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills, the Federation of Shillong Hotels stated that the fraternity has already been facing a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders due to the Centre's decision to revise the priority for allocating domestically produced natural gas, giving the cooking gas and transport sectors first priority to meet their full requirements before supplies are made to other sectors to ensure uninterrupted supply.
With the ongoing conflict in West Asia disrupting energy supplies, the government has cut gas allocation to sectors such as petrochemicals, in order to ensure that 100 per cent of the fuel needed to produce cooking gas (LPG) for both cooking and automobiles, as well as piped cooking gas for households, is met. This has led to a supply shortage for hotels and restaurants, which rely on market-priced commercial LPG.
"Hotel owners in Shillong have already begun facing shortages of commercial LPG cylinders, which are essential for our day-to-day operations," said PS Sehdave, President of the Federation of Shillong Hotels, in the letter.
He stated that hotels not only host guests, but also employ a large number of resident staff, and a complete stoppage of LPG supply would severely affect their operations.
"A complete stoppage of LPG supply would be disastrous for the hotel industry, especially when Meghalaya is increasingly dependent on tourism for economic growth and livelihood," he said.
Sehdave urged the district administration to allow at least partial supply of commercial LPG to hotels.
"We request the authorities to restore at least partial supply of commercial LPG to hotels so that we can sustain the present stressful situation until normalcy is restored," he added.