LPG shortage forces eateries in Velankanni to scale down menu

A tea shop remains closed amid the LPG shortage near the Basilica in Velankanni, Nagapattinam district.
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Special Arrangement

A prolonged shortage of LPG has triggered partial shutdowns and severe operational curbs across Velankanni’s hospitality sector, with hotels and tea shops either closing early, trimming menus or shifting basic preparation outside town — dampening tourist and pilgrim inflow at the start of a busy season.

A major Catholic pilgrimage centre, Velankanni draws visitors year-round to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, with many arriving to offer prayers, fulfil vows and seek healing.

According to local industry estimates, over 10 large hotels, about 100 smaller eateries and nearly 150 tea shops in and around the pilgrim town have been affected. Several tea shops have downed shutters while a majority of hotels are operating for limited hours with reduced offerings.

“We’ve almost stopped making tea on-site,” said R. Kannan, a tea shop owner. “Most of us prepare it at home or in nearby villages and bring it here to sell. With the LPG crisis, hardly anyone can run the stoves continuously.”

Mounting losses

Hotel operators say the shortage had coincided with a peak travel window, compounding losses. “This is the season for us — Ugadi was on Thursday, followed by the weekend when families usually visit,” said Vivek G., manager of Hotel Prakash. “I have gas only till about 6 p.m. today; after that we may have to close early. Firewood is not a viable alternative for us. We don’t know what else to do.”

“To conserve fuel, we have dropped high-heat, high-volume items. We have cancelled tea, coffee, vada, and Chinese dishes. This should have been a peak period with more visitors, but footfall has dropped. People seem to think hotels are shut, and that is keeping them away. We are running on a very limited menu,” said Anthonysamy of Hotel Church Park.

Velankanni Hotels Association secretary K.V. Baskar described the situation as “unsustainable”. “It is peak season and we typically see around 10,000 visitors a day on weekends. But footfall has dropped sharply and hotels are struggling to serve even the reduced number of pilgrims,” he said.

He said a significant share of visitors prefer north Indian and Chinese cuisine, which require sustained high-heat cooking. “It has become extremely difficult to offer these. Even making basic items such as poori is a challenge. Tea shops are shutting and with fewer options available, arrivals are declining,” he said.

“For now, eateries in Velankanni are running only for limited hours and, in many cases, merely for name’s sake. If we shut down now, our workers will disperse, and it will be difficult to bring them back when we resume operations. That is why many hotels have not completely shut down,” said Mr. Baskar.

Operators pointed to rising input costs, including edible oils, worsening the squeeze. With regular LPG supplies erratic, some are turning to private cylinders at steep rates — reported to be as high as ₹3,700 a cylinder — further eroding margins.