Many Restaurants Closed, Some Open With Reduced Menu As LPG Supply Remains Halted
Govt invokes Essential Commodities Act, asks refineries to boost LPG output
Chennai: The supply of LPG to commercial establishments like restaurants and hotels remained affected on Wednesday despite the government invoking the Essential Commodities Act and asking the refineries to increase LPG production. Several restaurants have shut their services, while some are managing operations with a reduced menu and reduced staff.
“Several restaurants are not operating today. This is happening across the country. Restaurants, which have some LPG stocks, opened with reduced menu, lesser items and reduced staff,” said Pradeep Shetty, vice president, FHRAI.
The government on Tuesday had invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, under which it will regulate the supply and distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, as well as trade and commerce relating to the same, if it is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so for maintaining or increasing supplies to ensure equitable distribution.
Further, the government has directed refineries and petrochemical units to maximise production of LPG.
According to FHRAI, LPG distributors have told the restaurants that they have not received any notification from the government, and hence, domestic consumption will remain the priority. “There is no clarity about the stocks with the distributors,” he said.
However, FHRAI has not yet heard about hotels stopping their operations. India consumes some 31.3 million tonnes of LPG annually, and of this major portion goes to households.
The government has constituted a committee of three Executive Directors of Oil Marketing Companies to review the representations of restaurants and hotels and prioritise LPG supply.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to take immediate steps to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply for domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers in Tamil Nadu.
The escalating tensions in the Middle East have put India’s crude oil supplies at risk and pressured the country’s LPG flows. Almost 80–85 per cent of its LPG needs are sourced from Gulf suppliers and transit via the Strait of Hormuz.
