Commercial LPG shortage disrupts kitchens across the city, hotels switch to rice items like chitranna and bisibele bath as snack sales crash
Bengaluru: A sudden shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has pushed hotels across Bengaluru into crisis, forcing many establishments to temporarily stop preparing popular fried snacks such as vade, bajji, pakoda, puri and gobi manchurian.
Hotel owners say the disruption in the supply of commercial cylinders has made it extremely difficult to run kitchens normally, as snacks that require continuous high heat and large quantities of cooking oil consume significant amounts of gas.
With limited LPG stock available, hotels have now begun prioritising food items that consume less gas, particularly rice-based dishes that can serve more customers with minimal fuel usage.
Hotels Shift Focus to Rice Items
Restaurant operators across the city have increasingly begun preparing rice-based dishes such as chitranna, palav and bisibele bath, which require less cooking time and lower gas consumption.
Hotel associations say this decision was unavoidable as businesses are struggling to stretch the limited LPG supply throughout the day’s operations.
“Please do not ask for snacks that require a lot of oil. We request customers to cooperate and order rice items instead,” hotel owners are appealing to diners.
Many establishments have even placed informal notices requesting customers to temporarily avoid ordering gas-intensive snack items.
LPG Supply Disruption Hits Kitchen Operations
The decline in the availability of commercial LPG cylinders has created serious operational challenges for hotels trying to manage daily cooking requirements.
Snack items such as vade, bajji, pakoda and gobi require constant frying at high temperatures, which significantly increases gas consumption and causes cylinders to run out quickly.
To ensure that kitchens can continue serving customers throughout the day, many hotels have reportedly given a temporary ‘break’ to their snack counters.
Industry insiders say the decision has already started affecting the hospitality sector in the city.
Hotels Fear Major Revenue Loss
According to hotel owners, fried snack items are among the most profitable products sold in small and mid-sized eateries across the city.
If these items remain unavailable, establishments expect overall revenue to decline by nearly 30–40 percent.
Evening business could be affected even more severely, as many customers typically visit restaurants specifically for bajji, bonda, pakoda and other oil-based snacks.
Hoteliers warn that evening takeaway and parcel orders could drop by nearly 50 percent if the situation continues.
Many customers, they say, prefer snacks during evening hours rather than rice-based meals, and the absence of these items may reduce footfall at restaurants.
Industry representatives are now urging authorities and LPG distributors to restore normal supply of commercial cylinders as soon as possible to prevent further financial losses in the hospitality sector.
Until the supply chain stabilises, hotels across Bengaluru may continue to operate with limited menus focused mainly on rice-based dishes.
