[By Our Correspondent Mumbai Samachar Desk]
Mumbai: A severe shortage of commercial LPG has pushed India’s hospitality sector to the brink, with industry leaders warning that nearly half of Mumbai’s hotels and restaurants could be forced to temporarily shut down within 48 hours if supply is not restored.
The crisis, which began with intermittent disruptions, has escalated into a near-complete halt in commercial LPG supply across several regions since yesterday. Industry representatives attribute the growing chaos to a notification issued on March 5 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which has triggered widespread confusion among suppliers and distributors — many of whom have since stopped delivering commercial LPG cylinders to hotels, restaurants, and food service establishments.
Shortages Reported Across Multiple States
Severe supply disruptions have already been confirmed in major cities including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur, with similar reports emerging from Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
“If the situation does not improve within the next two days, nearly 50 per cent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations depending on the stock of cylinders they currently have,” said Pradeep Shetty, Vice President of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and Spokesperson for the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI).
Shetty warned that the disruption would disproportionately affect smaller and medium-sized eateries, which typically operate with limited LPG reserves and have little buffer against supply interruptions.
International Tourists and Daily Consumers at Risk
The timing of the crisis raises further concerns, as the shortage threatens to impact international tourists currently visiting the country as well as those scheduled to arrive in the coming days. The hospitality sector serves millions of people daily including working professionals, students, and both domestic and international travellers and supports a broad employment ecosystem spanning cloud kitchens, industrial kitchens, and catering establishments.
Also Read: LPG Production Up 10% Today, Dismisses Shortage Concerns : Government
Drawing a parallel to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the sector was officially recognised as an essential service, Shetty underscored that its role in sustaining urban food supply remains as critical today as it was then.
No Viable Alternative to LPG for Commercial Kitchens
While electric and induction-based cooking solutions are gradually gaining traction, industry representatives maintain that these are not yet practical for most commercial kitchens. The high-intensity, fast-paced cooking methods central to Indian cuisine demand energy outputs that current electrical alternatives cannot reliably match. A transition to such systems would also require substantial investment in cost and infrastructure changes that most establishments are not positioned to make on short notice.
“At present, the industry has no practical alternative and urgently requires restoration of uninterrupted commercial LPG supply to ensure that hotels, restaurants and food service establishments can continue operating without disruption,” Shetty said.
The FHRAI and HRAWI have called on the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to immediately address the supply breakdown and prevent what could become a significant disruption to India’s food service industry.