‘We might have to close restaurants’: Owners flag LPG shortage

Some establishments that are still receiving deliveries say their supplies have been curtailed. Pavit Pahwa, owner of Scola Café, said he recently received only three cylinders after placing an order for six. He said the kitchen has now been instructed to conserve gas so that the available stock can last about 15 days.

A representative from Sabroza Kitchen said LPG is available but at inflated prices and without any additional stock in the market. The representative said that if the situation continues, restaurants may have no option but to pass on the increased costs to customers through higher menu prices.

Restaurant owners also pointed out that establishments relying on traditional open-flame cooking are particularly vulnerable. Navdeep Tehlan, owner of Victoria’s Boutique Café, said cuisines such as Indian and Chinese depend heavily on flame-based cooking and cannot easily shift to alternatives. Tehlan said his café currently has about a week’s supply but warned that if the shortage persists, many restaurants may eventually have to move towards electric ovens or induction-based cooking systems, a transition that would require time and investment.

Manmohan Singh, chairman of Chandigarh hotel and restaurant association and owner of the Aroma Hotel, said he too was concerned about the emerging situation. “We are provided with LPG through the pipeline system and as such we are not facing any shortage for now but we are certainly apprehensive about the future supply. We do understand that those establishments which use commercial cylinders are experiencing difficulties,” he said.

For now, businesses say they are trying to manage with the available supplies, but with deliveries being rationed and prices rising, the hospitality sector fears that the gap between normal operations and a complete shutdown could narrow in the coming days.