Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: Hundreds of roadside eateries and small restaurants in Odisha have been forced to cut down their menus, increase prices and in several cases switch to coal and firewood amid a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.
Prasant Kumar Bhatt, manager of a vegetarian restaurant in Bhubaneswar, said they had to drastically reduce their menu due to the prevailing crisis.
“Earlier, we were offering 180 small and big food items to our customers. But now we have cut it down to 18 as we are not getting sufficient cylinders,” he said.
He added that many food items are now being prepared using induction cooktops.
Kishore Mutton, a famous hotel in the state capital, has switched to firewood to meet its fuel demand following the shortage of cooking gas.
“As we are not getting adequate numbers of commercial cylinders, we are not serving dinner anymore,” the hotel’s owner said.
Due to the crisis, several street food vendors at ‘Khaogali’ here have closed down their shops, while others have raised the price of food items.
Similarly, several tiffin centre owners in Berhampur, known for their South Indian dishes, have hiked prices amid the alleged shortage of commercial LPG supply.
The cost of items like idli, vada and puri, earlier sold at Rs 5 per piece, has gone up to Rs 7, while upma and dosa priced at Rs 10 and Rs 30, have been increased to Rs 15 and Rs 40, respectively.
“As we have to spend more for fuel and cooking oil, we had to increase the prices of different items,” a food vendor said.
Krushna Chandra Panigrahy, who sells ‘ghugni’ near Khallikote Unitary University in Berhampur, said he has increased the price from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per plate.
Short supply of commercial LPG and a crackdown by the district administration on the use of domestic cylinders for commercial purposes have forced some vendors to shut down operations.
Brundaban Panda, a jalebi maker near Bijipur area, said he was forced to shut his unit.
The owner of Bishnupriya hotel, a small eatery in Baliapal area of Balasore district, said he has cut down the menu and offers only basic food items like rice, dal, curry, papad, etc.
“If such a situation continues, we will be forced to shut the hotel,” he said.
In Cuttack, a hotel owner said many workers dependent on the business have also been affected.
“Along with me, several people, including cooks and suppliers, depend on the hotel for their livelihood. So we switched to firewood to prepare limited food items,” he said.
Students and job aspirants, who generally stay in messes and cook their own food using small LPG cylinders, are also facing difficulties due to the shortage and rising prices.
However, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra said there was an adequate stock of commercial LPG cylinders in the state and that there was no need to panic.
Speaking to reporters, Patra said 14,000 commercial LPG cylinders are currently available in the state against a daily demand of 2,000.
He said the Centre has enhanced commercial LPG allocation to 50 per cent from the earlier 20 per cent.
“While 20 per cent was designated for commercial use, the central government has permitted an additional 20 per cent to states specifically for restaurants and hotels. The remaining 10 per cent is subject to certain conditions for supply, which we will comply with,” he said.
He informed that the state government has also intensified raids across multiple locations to curb black marketing of LPG cylinders.
“Strict action will be taken against those found involved in illegal practices,” Patra warned.
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