CM urges LPG suppliers to ensure commercial supply

The State government on Thursday scrambled to mitigate the distress caused by the shortage of cooking gas cylinders earmarked for commercial use by streamlining supply. 

An urgent meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed suppliers to give greater priority to hospitals, old-age homes, orphanages, schools, community kitchens, hostels, IT parks and factory canteens.

He said the LPG shortage should not disrupt crematorium operations. The war in West Asia and the disruption of LPG supplies through the Strait of Hormuz had forced the Centre to slash commercial distribution to ensure domestic consumers were not hit. 

The rationing of commercial cylinders in Kerala had forced restaurants to trim menus, cut operating hours and, in scores of cases, shut down establishments indefinitely, resulting in unemployment, loss of livelihood, price rises and acute non-availability of cooked food for those who rely on hotels. 

Several teastalls in Thiruvananthapuram are selling machine-made coffee and tea due to disruptions in the supply of non-domestic cooking gas. 

Indian Coffee Houses in the State stuck to a minimal menu as the commercial cylinder stocks dwindled, with no indication of restoration of supply. A hotel owner said suppliers were not responding to resupply requests. 

The war-induced pinch in cooking gas supply has also forced the hospitality industry to cancel bookings, including MICE meetings. Businesses which cater food at weddings and other social events are also feeling the squeeze caused by the war.

The meeting proposed increasing the supply of kerosene to throw a lifeline to small hotels and restaurants, including wayside eateries, relied on heavily by ordinary citizens, including the sizeable segment of migrant labourers and working-class families. 

Mr. Vijayan also asked the police and the Revenue and Food and Civil Supplies departments to crack down on illegal diversion of domestic cylinders for commercial purposes. The Kerala government will request the Centre to increase the State’s LPG allocation, given the sizeable number of migrant workers and their families. He ordered LPG suppliers to ensure that the LPG scarcity did not disrupt the normal delivery cycle of domestic cylinders, preventing public alarm and panic hoarding.