LPG Shortage Shuts Down 60% of Eateries
He said Araku Valley has 35 licensed restaurants, and half of them have shut down.
Visakhapatnam:The shortage and non-availability of commercial LPG cylinders is forcing the shutdown of food hawkers and makeshift unlicensed restaurants at popular tourist sites in the ASR district. “Over 60 percent of the restaurant owners in Araku Valley have shut down their operations due to a shortage and non-supply of commercial LPG cylinders. In another four or five days, the rest of the restaurants will close their operations,’’ said Araku Hotels Association P. Sambayya.
He said Araku Valley has 35 licensed restaurants, and half of them have shut down. Several hawkers have already closed for three days. It is directly affecting the livelihoods of local people who have only recently started earning after the tourist influx increased, Sambayya said.
At Borra Caves, 15 of the 20 restaurants have started using firewood instead of commercial LPG. They are sparingly using the gas and have limited their menu to the bare minimum, said Borra Caves manager Ch. Gowri Shankar. He said tourist flow has reduced due to the ongoing examination, and only 700 visited the caves.
Food quality officer of ASR district M. Greeshma said 73 restaurants have registered with their department, and of them, five have closed their operations in Paderu. She said she had no information on closures in other parts of the district. Sources said most unlicensed food hawkers are using domestic LPG cylinders, and after the civil supplies department began a crackdown amid the present crisis, they have closed their shops. The ASR has 6,000 commercial LPG connections, most of them in the hospitality sector.