The supply of cooking gas is decreasing, many hotels in Darjeeling-Sikkim are afraid of closing!

The idea of ​​mountain travel in spring! Planning a trip to Darjeeling or Sikkim hills? But be careful. The possibility of the outbreak of war on tourism. There is a risk of corrosion of gas cylinders. How will the hotel business work if there is no cooking gas? That question arises. The threat of severe crisis in the restaurant and hotel industry in the tourist centers of North Bengal and Sikkim is increasing due to disruption of commercial LPG gas supply. If the situation is not normal soon, many restaurants may be closed without getting commercial gas supply! The price of food items can increase drastically. Tourists can be in trouble. That panic is starting to spread.

At the moment Darjeeling and Sikkim are crowded with tourists. Tourists from other states have also started flocking to those two hills to get some relief from the pleasant weather. In the meantime, the growing destructive war in the Middle East has brought danger. LPG gas in India mainly comes from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc. through the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the US-Israeli attack, Iran has stopped shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, at least 37 Indian ships have been stuck. Due to the disruption of commercial LPG gas supplies from the Middle East due to the war, there has been an acute gas crisis in the restaurant and hotel industry across the country. The tourism industry of North Bengal and Sikkim has also started to have a big impact.

Meanwhile, distributors are struggling to maintain normal supply of commercial cylinders. To bring the situation under control due to dwindling gas reserves, the central government extended the new booking period from 21 days to 25 days. Hoteliers fear that many small and big restaurants, hotels and eateries in Darjeeling and Sikkim hills may be forced to close temporarily if the situation does not normalize soon.

State Eco Tourism Committee Chairman Raj Basu said, “During the peak tourism season, an uncomfortable situation has developed. Hill hotels, restaurants are totally dependent on commercial LPG gas. Every hotel needs at least 10 commercial LPG gas cylinders a day to supply hot water, tea, food during the peak season. Failure to do so will lead to disaster.”

Rajbabu also said that if the supply of cooking gas is not normal, people will again turn to using wood fuel. As a result, the problem of wood smuggling in protected forest areas will increase! LPG gas prices have already increased since March 7 midnight. The price of cooking gas increased by 60 rupees per cylinder in one blow and the price of commercial gas increased by 114 rupees 50 paise per cylinder. Then if the gas supply is uncertain, the tourism industry will face disaster.

According to Darjeeling Hotel Association, there are 350 hotels in Darjeeling Hills. Two hundred in Kalimpong. There are also more than two thousand home-stays in Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills. On the other hand, according to the sources of Tourism and Civil Aviation Department of Sikkim Government, there are now 1,181 hotels, 1,981 homestays, more than 600 restaurants. There are additional guest house and PG facilities. Where one and a half thousand tourists can stay. Altogether there are 22 thousand 652 rooms and 43 thousand 807 beds in hotels and homestays in the state.

Now Gangot alone can accommodate 45,000 tourists per day. The services of all those hotels and homestays are completely dependent on commercial LPG gas. Samrat Sanyal, president of Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network said, “The tourism industry is facing a huge challenge. If this situation continues, the package costs of tourists will increase as hotels, restaurants will try to maintain normal services with the help of electricity.”