Gas crisis eases in Vijayawada, hotels reopen but price row continues

Vijayawada: After weeks of disruption triggered by the Iran war, the cooking gas crisis in the city is gradually easing, bringing much-needed relief to residents and the hospitality sector. With LPG supplies improving steadily, nearly 99% of hotels that were forced to shut down due to acute shortages have now resumed operations.Hotel owners say the situation has improved significantly compared with the peak of the crisis. "We struggled to even get a single cylinder a few weeks ago. Now supplies have improved, and we are able to run our kitchens without interruptions," said RV Swamy, president of AP Star Hotels Association. Many establishments that had temporarily switched to alternative cooking methods are now returning to LPG as availability increases.Confirming the improvement, Civil Supplies minister Nadendla Manohar stated that the situation is stabilising rapidly. "About 75% of commercial LPG supply has already been streamlined, and domestic consumers are also receiving cylinders at the earliest," he said. He further warned that the govt has initiated serious action against black-marketing activities that worsened the crisis in recent weeks.However, despite the return to normalcy, a fresh concern has emerged over food prices. Customers allege that hotels have not reduced prices even after LPG availability improved. "During the shortage, they increased prices saying gas costs had gone up. Now that supply is back, prices should come down, but that hasn't happened," said K Raghu Babu, a customer.Hotel owners, however, defend their stance, citing accumulated losses during the shutdown period. "We incurred heavy losses when our hotels were closed. It will take some time to stabilise financially before we can consider reducing prices," M Narayana, a restaurateur, explained.The mismatch between improving supply and unchanged food prices has led to growing dissatisfaction among consumers, who are urging authorities to ensure fair pricing.