Cooking gas crisis in Kerala forces hotels to shut; schools turn to firewood for midday meals

Thiruvananthapuram: Hotels across Kerala have begun shutting down as the supply of commercial cooking gas cylinders has come to a halt. Major suppliers, including IOC and BPCL, have stopped refilling cylinders for commercial use. HPCL continues to supply them only minimally.

On Wednesday, an estimated 20 per cent of hotels in the state remained closed due to the shortage.

With supplies disrupted, petroleum company representatives met with hotel associations to discuss the crisis. No immediate solution is said to be in sight. Central government guidelines restrict commercial cylinder supply to essential services, including hospitals, meaning hotels are unlikely to receive new deliveries soon.

Meanwhile, IOC, which handles 52 per cent of the state’s supply, said domestic cooking gas stocks are sufficient, though consumers report booking difficulties.

Complaints have emerged of private agencies selling cylinders at double the market price on the black market.

Schools to reintroduce firewood for midday meals

The cooking gas shortage has also impacted school midday meal programmes. Firewood, which had been phased out, is temporarily allowed for cooking under instructions from the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme.

It is clarified that firewood use is strictly temporary. Schools must revert to cooking gas once supplies are restored. The fuel alternatives should only be used to prevent disruption of midday meals.

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The Public Education Directorate instructed schools to ensure proper firewood use and avoid wastage. Any extra cost exceeding the approved fuel budget will be addressed in subsequent government orders. Many schools currently have enough cooking gas for only one or two additional days. Midday meals are expected to continue for roughly 12–13 days this month.

The central ministry has requested schools to provide updated counts of cooking gas cylinders needed. This data was collected on Wednesday.