Kasaragod: At least 65 eateries have shut down across Kasaragod district as a worsening shortage of cooking gas is pushing hotels, bakeries, catering units and roadside eateries into a deepening crisis, said Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Gas agency owners said commercial LPG cylinders have not been supplied for the past three days. Distribution has reportedly been restricted to canteens in hospitals and educational institutions, leaving most commercial establishments struggling to continue operations, it said.

In Kanhangad, Hotel Vishwabhavan, a popular eatery relied upon by many for lunch, closed down on Wednesday, March 11, after running out of cooking gas. The owner of Nandu’s Thattukada, a biryani outlet, said he has not been accepting new orders for the past two days and was only completing orders that had already been booked.

Udupi Krishnabhavan Hotel in Kanhangad said it would be forced to shut down within two or three days if gas supply was not restored. The Indian Coffee House in Kanhangad has moved to firewood. Its manager said it cooked rice, and made curries and biryani on firewood stoves set up outside on Wednesday.

It also slashed its menu card. However, he said gas stoves are still essential for preparing tea and coffee, which have to be made continuously throughout the day. If the shortage persists, the restaurant’s operations will soon become difficult, he said.

Saju, owner of SSMS Bakery in Periya in Kasaragod, said it had gas only for two more days. The bakery’s ovens run entirely on gas, and shifting to firewood is not practical due to smoke and pollution concerns, which could lead to complaints from nearby residents. Catering units that have taken bookings for iftar gatherings are also facing serious difficulties as the gas shortage disrupts their preparations.

According to Biju Chullikkara, district secretary of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association, around 65 hotels in the district have already shut down due to the shortage, and more establishments may close in the coming days.

He said that earlier, a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder cost around Rs 1,900, but operators were later forced to purchase 17-kg cylinders for nearly Rs 3,000. Now, even those cylinders are not available, he said.

Many hotel owners run their establishments on bank loans, and both owners and workers, along with their families, are facing severe hardship, Biju Chullikkara said. A large number of employees in the sector are migrant workers.

“If restaurants remain shut for long, they will return to their native places. When the sector reopens, we may then face a shortage of workers,” he said, pointing to another looming crisis.