Shortage of Commercial Cooking Gas Cylinders: 75% of Salem’s Hotels to Close Starting Today — Hotel Owners Association
Tamil Nadu: The Hotel Owners’ Association has announced that, due to a shortage of commercial cooking gas cylinders, 75 percent of hotels in Salem will remain closed starting Friday.
Palanisamy, President of the Salem District Hotel Owners’ Association, told reporters on Thursday:
“There are 3,000 hotels operating in Salem district, with 1,000 located within the metropolitan area. Currently, the supply of commercial cooking gas cylinders has been completely halted for the past three days.
95 percent of hotels in Salem rely on gas cylinders. Until now, we have been preparing meals using the cylinders available in our existing stock.
Due to the current shortage in the supply of gas cylinders, 75 percent of hotels will shut down starting Friday. The closure of these hotels will have a severe impact on those who depend entirely on hotel food for their meals.
Furthermore, a situation has arisen where workers dependent on the hotel industry for their livelihood will be adversely affected as their income dries up. Similarly, sales of meat, milk, vegetables, and groceries are also expected to decline. Even if a supply of just 50 percent of the required gas cylinders is restored, this problem could be resolved to a significant extent.”
He urged both the Central and State governments to take immediate action, recognizing the gravity of this issue.
Association Secretary Balasubramani, Treasurer Sai Saran, and Muthuraja—Director of the Lakshmi Hotel Group—were also present during the press interaction.
20% Cut in Supply to Agencies?
Due to the shortage of cooking gas cylinders, the supply of cylinders from bottling plants to distributors has reportedly been slashed by 20 percent. Consequently, distributors are facing significant difficulties in delivering cooking gas cylinders to customers.
Members of the general public who have registered directly with agencies for their gas connections are now facing long waiting periods to procure their gas cylinders.
