Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) [India], March 29 : Amid the ongoing West Asia Crisis, the resulting disruptions have led to a shortage in the supply of commercial LPG cylinders.
Due to this shortfall, hotel and restaurant owners in the hill station of Mussoorie, popularly known as the "Queen of the Hills", have begun making alternative cooking arrangements.
Keeping in mind the convenience of tourists and local customers, these establishments have started using alternative fuels such as electric induction stoves and traditional wood-fired chulhas for cooking, in response to the limited availability of commercial LPG cylinders.
Speaking to ANI, Sandeep Sahni, a restaurant owner, said, "There is certainly a problem regarding this war. In all tourist spots, as we know, tourism is the backbone of our economy. The upcoming Chardham Yatra is also set to begin in a few weeks. I would not call it a crisis yet, but there is definitely a minor shortage which is beyond our control. However, the good news is that most hotel and restaurant owners have started looking for alternatives. We have curtailed our menus slightly. We are doing whatever cooking can be done on electric induction plates. The use of coal tandoors and firewood is also increasing. While doing this, our effort is to ensure that tourists do not face any inconvenience. The silver lining is that so far, there have been no complaints from tourists across Uttarakhand. We hope that once supplies normalise, everything will be back to normal."
Naresh, Owner of Chick Chocolate, said that ever since this war started, the gas problem began, making it very difficult to run our business.
"We have already cut half the items from our menu. We are constantly making calls for gas. In the last 15 days, we have received only one cylinder, even though we have five locations where gas is needed for five different stoves. We don't know how long this will last, and the tourist season is also approaching. Just like everyone else, we are facing this. In place of gas, we have installed induction and coil heaters. We are also looking into other options. I've heard of diesel stoves, but since our kitchen is indoors, it won't work here. For our Chinese section, we are sourcing specialised Chinese woks. Everyone is facing these difficulties," Naresh told ANI.
Another restaurant owner, Narendra Singh Rautela, stated that everyone is feeling this problem, and it has become a major issue.
"As you can see, this is our pizza oven; it also operates on gas. But due to the problems we've seen in recent days, we have completely removed the gas because the supply is just not there. We are now managing with wood and have become more dependent on electricity. All of this is negatively impacting business because our entire industry relies on these supplies. Now, we are neither getting gas nor can we serve the guests properly."
Narendra also said that the supply is uncertain; they say we might get 30% or 20%, but even that is not sure.
"If someone's daily consumption was 20 cylinders, they are now struggling to get even one or two. Mussoorie's economy is totally dependent on tourism. If this continues, it will be hard for Mussoorie to move forward.[6] The logistics here are poor, and things like coal and wood are also difficult to source. No one knows what the ultimate solution will be," he added.
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