TN Hotels' body requests Centre to withdraw order on supply of commercial LPG cylinders

Chennai, Mar 7 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, a body representing the hotels and restaurants in the state, has appealed to the Centre to withdraw its order instructing oil marketing companies to suspend commercial LPG cylinders.

While understanding that the government has issued such an order arising out of the conflict in the Middle Eastern countries, the association's president M Venkadasubbu, stressed that such a decision would severely affect the hotels and eateries and large number of people employed in the sector.

"Hotels and restaurants are primarily dependent on using commercial gas cylinders. Therefore, if the supply of these commercial gas cylinders is not regularised, hotels and eateries will be forced to suspend their operations," he said in a statement here on Saturday.

It would largely hit lakhs of workers employed in the sector, he cautioned.

Venkadasubbu urged the government to withdraw such a directive, and oil companies to take up measures to ensure uninterrupted delivery of commercial LPG cylinders.

On March 6, the government invoked sparingly used emergency powers to direct oil refineries to ramp up LPG production as it looks to increase the availability of domestic cooking gas to hedge against potential disruptions from the widening Middle East conflict.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the prices of domestic LPG and commercial cylinders were hiked by a steep Rs 60 and Rs 114.5, respectively, amid rising energy costs linked to the conflict. PTI VIJ VIJ KH