Andhra hotels warn of shutdown, appeal for uninterrupted gas supply

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh Star Hotels Association on Tuesday appealed to the state government to ensure reasonable and uninterrupted supply of commercial gas cylinders as oil marketing companies are rationing supplies amid supply chain disruptions fuelled by a raging war in West Asia.

An Indian Oil Corporation source told PTI that commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supplies are being restricted to prioritise domestic users, while the Centre has also restructured its gas allocations today.

“Facilitate coordination with LPG distributors and concerned authorities in the state to ensure reasonable and uninterrupted availability of commercial LPG cylinders for the hospitality sector in Andhra Pradesh,” said association president RV Swamy in a letter to Civil Supplies Minister N Manohar.

According to him, the hospitality sector depends significantly on commercial LPG cylinders for daily operations.

As the industry plays a crucial role in supporting the tourism ecosystem, especially in places such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati, uninterrupted hospitality services are essential for serving both domestic and international visitors.

Referring to a Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas order, Swamy said hospitality establishments are receiving indications from cooking gas distributors regarding possible constraints in the supply of LPG cylinders, leading to growing concern within the industry.

Any prolonged disruption in commercial LPG cylinders’ supply could significantly impact hotels, restaurants, catering services, banquets and conferences, he said.

Meanwhile, Sumana Shankar, a cooking gas distributor in Vijayawada, who distribute up to 500 domestic gas cylinders and 400 commercial ones on a normal day, said there is no issue with domestic cooking gas supply.

“No issue for domestic customers, but supplies for commercial customers have been stopped. Until today, we provided commercial supplies, but no supply from tomorrow,” he said.

Shankar further said domestic cylinders come in 14.2 kg and 10 kg capacity variants, while commercial cylinders come in the 19 kg and 47.5 kg variants.

“I think they (oil marketing companies) may not supply commercial gas cylinders until the war in West Asia ends,” he said.

Another cooking gas distributor from Mangalagiri said he could not distribute even a single gas cylinder for two days, as he did not receive the indent he raised for 350 cylinders.

“We raised the indent on Monday but did not receive it and ultimately the consumers are getting affected,” he said, adding that he distributes about 200 cylinders on an average during normal days.

The distributor noted that the impact could last a fortnight as at least 200 gas cylinder orders are piling up per day for him.

Kumar Agarwal, a hotelier in Vijayawada, said there are no LPG gas cylinders in the market as distributors say that gas supplies are insufficient.

“Only one-third of the stock (gas cylinders) is available, which may last until Saturday. If new cylinders are not supplied after Sunday, many hotels in Vijayawada may be forced to shut down operations, similar to the situation recently reported in Bengaluru and other cities facing shortages,” he said.

Even if hotel owners are willing to shell out extra money, gas cylinders are currently unavailable in the market, he said, alleging that some distributors earlier sold a few cylinders at overpriced rates of around Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per unit.

According to Agarwal, larger or star hotels typically keep nearly 50 cylinders in reserve, depending on their usage, allowing them to continue operations longer during shortages.

However, smaller establishments are more vulnerable to supply disruptions and the ongoing crisis may lead to a rise in food prices by up to 20 per cent in hotels.

Pointing to food delivery partners, he said they may also face longer waiting time as restaurants struggle with limited cooking fuel and uncertainty about future cylinder supplies.

However, Civil Supplies Minister N Manohar said there is “no shortage of LPG gas in the state” and appealed to people to not worry about it.

“There are enough gas stocks for domestic and commercial use. Presently there is no problem,” he said in an official release.

He directed joint collectors to focus on cooking gas supply in their respective districts and take measures to ensure that cooking gas is not diverted to the black market at this crucial juncture.