Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Mar 12 (PTI) Many restaurants in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar have curtailed their menus or are planning to switch to dishes that can be cooked using wood or coal,
while a few have shut down, owners said on Thursday, citing cooking gas supply disruptions.
Manoj Kacchwa, a restaurant owner from the Kranti Chowk area of the city, claimed that they are finding it difficult to get commercial LPG cylinders amid the ongoing West Asia crisis. The wait time is too long, he said.
“We are serving items that are cooked on a low flame. But this is not the case everywhere. Many of my friends who have hotels in Waluj, Ranjangaon, Bidkin and Chikalthana industrial areas have shut their hotels due to gas shortage,” he said.
An eatery in the City Chowk area serving Chinese dishes remained closed. Its owner Kalam Khan said they have no cooking gas left.
“Since this is the Ramzan month, we have to pay salaries to our workers. I am planning to shift to traditional wood chulhas and start cooking biryani from tomorrow. If we can manage to get coal-fired sigdis (stoves), we may consider preparing other items,” he said.
Aarti Deshpande, who runs a mess in the Nirala Bazar, said that procuring cooking gas has become a cumbersome task.
“Earlier, cooking gas was delivered to our mess. Now, the agencies ask us to come and register our demand for gas cylinders. I do not know how much time we will have to spend there. We have not reduced our menu, but the cost of gas has become a serious concern for us,” said Deshpande.
Speaking in Parliament earlier in the day, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it is the foremost priority of the Centre that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, do not face any shortage of gas.
The minister said commercial LPG has been regulated to prevent black marketing, not to penalise the hospitality sector. PTI AW NR
