Commercial LPG shortage hits restaurants in Hyderabad

Canteens and restaurants in Hyderabad are facing severe difficulties for the third consecutive week due to restricted supply of commercial LPG cylinders. Many eateries have reduced menu items or suspended kitchen operations, while roadside tiffin centres are disappearing from highways.

Hyderabad: Canteens and restaurants continue to suffer for the third straight week due to restricted supply of commercial LPG cylinders.

Several hotels and eateries have cut down their menu, while a few have suspended activity in the kitchen. “A commercial LPG cylinder is sold in black market for around Rs 5000. Instead of spending such a high amount, where we only suffer a loss, we have stopped preparing the snacks,” said Mohd Khaja, a hotel owner at Pahadishareef Road.

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M Sai Krishna, who runs a canteen at a government hospital, said people were not ready to pay more for meals. “So we are preparing only four items as compared to ten earlier to cut down the losses. Already, our profit margin has come down drastically as we pay more for LPG cylinders,” he said.

The roadside tiffin centres that come up on the highways are no longer visible on the State and national highways, and the arterial roads in the commercial areas of the city.