Kochi: The Kerala Hotel & Restaurant Association (KHRA) on Tuesday announced that it has called off the statewide strike scheduled for March 23, which was planned in protest against the LPG shortage.

The decision was taken after the Civil Supplies Commissioner assured that the supply of commercial LPG would resume in the state within two days.

At a meeting held on Thursday, the Commissioner informed KHRA representatives that 20 per cent of the cylinders required for hotel operations would be supplied in the first phase. Additional cylinders will be provided in a phased manner.

A committee will be formed to coordinate LPG supply to hotels, with KHRA representatives included.

The meeting also decided that the government would take immediate steps to expedite Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections to hotels in areas where such supply is currently available.

Following the meeting, KHRA stated that the government had promised to take steps to declare hotels as essential service for LPG supply.

Apart from KHRA members, representatives of all public sector oil companies and government officials attended the meeting.

KHRA president G Jayapal said that the supply of one cylinder per day is a major relief, though full-scale hotel operations with complete menu offerings may not yet be possible.

A huge number of hotels have switched to electric cooktops and traditional stoves that use firewood. At the same time, many eateries were forced to shut down after running out of LPG.  Some restaurants, including Indian Coffee Houses, stopped serving dosa and hot beverages like coffee while trimming the menu due to LPG shortage.