Shillong, March 11: Hoteliers in Meghalaya capital Shillong have sought the intervention of 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 representation to the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, the Federation of Shillong Hotels said the fraternity has already started facing a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders following the Centre’s decison to revise the priority for allocating domestically produced natural gas, giving the cooking gas and transport sectors first charge to meet their full requirements before supplies are made to other sectors to ensure uninterrupted supply.
With the widening West Asia conflict disrupting energy supplies, the government has cut gas allocation to sectors like petrochemicals, so that 100 per cent requirement of the fuel needed to produce cooking gas LPG as well as CNG for automobiles and piped cooking gas to households is met. This has led to a supply crunch for hotels and restaurants, which use market-priced commercial LPG.
“Hotels in Shillong have already begun facing shortages of commercial LPG cylinders, which are essential for our day-to-day operations,” Federation of Shillong Hotels president PS Sehdave said in the letter.
He said hotels not only host guests, but also maintain a large number of resident staff, and a complete stoppage of LPG supply would severely affect their functioning.
“A total stoppage of LPG supply will 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. (PTI)
