Chennai, Nov 4 (BPNS)
The increase in price of LPG cylinders for commercial purposes has led to the closing down of eateries with several small hotels and restaurants in Tamil Nadu preferring to down their shutters rather than effecting huge losses.
M. Rashid Khan, a small-time hotelier in Saidapet, Chennai while speaking to BPNS said, “ On Wednesday, the price of one LPG Cylinder at Chennai was Rs 2133 while during October the price was Rs 1831 and this steep increase in price of gas cylinder would lead to a person like me coughing up more than 1000 rs per day. I don’t even get a profit of more than 1000 rs a day and if you are doing a business at loss, the best thing is to shut it down and avoid further losses.”
Hoteliers also warned that there are possibilities of domestic cylinders that are priced much below being sold in the black market to these commercial establishments including small eateries and restaurants.
Susheela Bhai, a homemaker at the outskirts of Basant Nagar in Chennai while speaking to BPNS said, “ We can easily shift to firewood cooking and if we sell a cylinder for 1200 rs also we get a neat profit and its big money for people like us and the restaurant owners are also benefitted as they will have to shell out double the amount to buy a cylinder.”
The hotel and restaurant association of Tamil Nadu also is apprehensive of the future of the hotel industry. M.R. Mukundarajan, Joint secretary of the organization while speaking to BPNS said, “ Death bells are ringing for the industry. We cannot afford to manage the show with such a huge increase in price of gas cylinders. At the end of the day, no one wants to end up in loss after slogging for several hours in a day. People have decided to shut down their restaurants and eateries and grab some work elsewhere to support the family. “
The hotels and eateries of the state were on the path of a slight recovery after shutting down for so long during the pandemic and the hike in LPG prices has given a blow to the recovery dreams of the industry.
