Gas cylinder shortage hits 50,000 weddings:Furnace use banned with ₹10,000 fine; hotels and restaurants face shutdown threat

Due to the war between America-Israel and Iran, gas supply through the Hormuz waterway has been disrupted. This is now affecting all cities in Madhya Pradesh. People with businesses dependent on commercial cylinders in all cities including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur are facing increased difficulties. Those running hotels and restaurants, along with small business owners selling food items on carts, are also being affected. The biggest concern is for those who have already distributed wedding cards due to the wedding season. Around 50,000 weddings are estimated during this season. The hospitality at these events might be affected, as commercial cylinders are no longer available, and lighting open fires could result in fines up to 10,000 rupees. Let’s tell you what the situation is due to commercial cylinder shortage? Impact on catering work, risk of event cancellations Jitendra from Bhopal, who has been in the catering business for 12-15 years, said there are events every day right now. There are two-three tomorrow. There are more the day after. Kharmas is going on until the 14th. There are events before that too. We handle tent, catering, household items and other work. The business will be greatly affected by the commercial cylinder shutdown. We can manage for a day or two. Got some work done with domestic cylinders. Managed some work by getting cylinders from here and there, but there will be big problems ahead. People who have events are starting to get phone calls. If events get cancelled it will cause heavy losses. The cylinders that are available here and there are costing up to Rs 2200. Even those won’t be available for 1-2 days. There are no other options. Diesel stove or electric stove is not suitable for our work. In such a situation, we don’t understand what to do now. There is a provision for minimum fine of Rs 5000 and maximum fine of Rs 2.5 lakh for lighting furnaces, but usually in such cases officers impose fines up to Rs 10,000. Gas crisis affects restaurants, orders face cancellation Deepak Singh Chauhan, owner of Bhopal Rajhans Restaurant says, we use five to six cylinders daily. Around 800 to 1000 people eat food here daily. Not getting commercial cylinders will affect business. Cooking food is essential. If we don’t cook, people will cook at home and even at home they will need gas. Or we should be given the facility to use domestic gas. We also have some induction etc. For example, there are government orders not to burn wood coal for tandoor etc. Now gas is being used in that too. There will be problems with that too. We take party orders. There are many such orders ahead. Now there will be difficulties. If this situation continues, we’ll have to cancel. Cooking crisis facing resorts and hotels Mukesh Lad, General Manager of Bhandari Resort in Indore, said that not getting commercial gas cylinders will greatly affect our work. There is currently no option for cooking. Kerosene is not easily available. We cannot cook food on wood, nor are ovens available. Suppose I need 100 cylinders today and if only 20-25 are available, how will I be able to fulfill the requirement? Hotel Industry Emergency Service, Will Meet CM Madhya Pradesh Hotel and Restaurant Association President Sumit Suri said that currently hotels have not faced any such problem, but there could be difficulties in the coming days. A meeting of hotel operators has been scheduled at the state level regarding this issue, and a meeting has also been called in Indore. The hotel industry also comes under emergency services. During the Corona period too, it was kept under emergency services so that guests coming from outside would not face any problems. He said- Organization officials will also meet Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav regarding their demands. Crisis looms over food for thousands of students, tiffin centers may close Rajanish, the operator of Unnati Bhojanalaya in Bhopal, said that their canteen needs gas cylinders every fifth day. If supply is affected, it will have a major impact on operations. Around 60-70 students eat at their facility daily and tiffin’s are also sent out. They said they have been doing this work for the past 7-8 years. Cooking food on wood or other alternatives is not easy. There are about 70-80 tiffin centers in the area and approximately 20-25 thousand students depend on them. If the cylinder shortage continues for long, many centers may have to close. Food delivery workers worried about employment Sukesh, who works in food delivery, says, I deliver 15 to 20 orders daily. Some days I earn 800 and other days up to 1200 rupees. Today I learned that commercial cylinder supply has stopped. This will not only affect restaurants but also food delivery. If restaurants cannot cook food, how will we get orders? In such a situation, our work will also come to a halt. More than 7,000 people regularly work in food delivery in Bhopal. There are concerns that their livelihood may be affected if commercial cylinder supply is impacted. State Government’s claim – Supply is normal, no need to panic In the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav gave directions to monitor the availability of petrol-diesel and gas. Minister Chaitanya Kashyap said that there is adequate stock of petroleum products in the state and domestic gas supply is normal. The government has appealed to avoid rumors spreading on social media and trust only authorized information. Government implements Essential Commodities Act to prevent black marketing Meanwhile, the central government has implemented the ‘Essential Commodities Act 1955’ across the country to prevent hoarding of essential items including gas. Now gas will be divided into 4 categories…. First Category (Full Supply): This includes household kitchen gas (PNG) and CNG used in vehicles. These will continue to receive full gas supply as before. Second Category (Fertilizer Factories): Fertilizer manufacturing factories will be given about 70% gas. They just need to prove that the gas was used only in making fertilizer. Third Category (Large Industries): Tea factories and other large industries connected to the national grid will receive approximately 80% of their required gas. Fourth Category (Small Businesses and Hotels): Small factories, hotels and restaurants connected to city gas networks will also receive approximately 80% gas based on their previous consumption.