LPG price: Students, pros feel the hike bite

BHOPAL: It is not only housewives, who are worrying over the hike in LPG cylinder prices and rising inflation. Students and professionals of city, who depend on tiffin centres and hotels for food, are now also feeling the bite of zooming gas price.
Restaurant owners are also feeling the pinch. Unable to manage the affairs after the hike some small restaurant owners have even shut the shop.
"For the past one year, I was paying Rs 1,400 per month for tiffin food. But last month, I was told that I would have to shell out Rs 500 more for the same. When I asked my parents for extra money, they thought I was wasting money on parties and friends, said MCA student, RKDF College of Engineering Rajdip Patro.
"Now, I prepare food on my own but that eats into my study time," he adds.
His is just one of the thousand cases where those depending on outside food are looking for 'options.'
"I used to have my lunch and dinner at a hotel near 11 No. market. But that got closed down this month. Now, I am surviving only on oily vegetables and half-baked chapatis. In Bhopal, it is extremely difficult to find ghar like khana," says Arera Colony resident and HDFC bank staff Veer Singh, adding he is now planning to move to a bigger house with kitchen, which would mean less savings for him.
Restaurteurs, hotel owners 'at loss'
Meanwhile, restaurateurs and hotel owners are at loss over ways to ensure business' smooth run. In the past couple of months, many have either downed shutters or increased food rates, which have not gone down well with the customers.
"Our restaurant was running a monthly loss of about Rs 10,000 ever since the government announced hike in the rate of cooking gas and cap on subsidized gas cylinders. To compensate, we increased the rate of meals and other food items, but the decision backfired and ultimately, we had to close it down by the beginning of December," says proprietor of Gossip restaurant, once located near 11 number market, Rajkumar Mittal"Though keeping in mind the convenience of students, we have decided to continue with our tiffin service but how long can we serve out of our own pocket," asks Rajkumar, who is into the business for the past couple of years and had expansion plans in mind for 2013.
"Inflated cooking gas rates and inflation together do not allow us to provide tiffin service at a cost which all can afford. After the price hike on commercial cylinders, we increased Rs 200 per tiffin per month, but that badly affected our business with most of the customers deciding to join other tiffin centres or cook on their own," says Santosh Hirve, owner of Jyoti Tiffin Centre, somewhat dejectedly.
With mounting loss and debt, they have already decided to permanently shut down their years-old tea shop at 12 No. market.
Proprietor of Chilliez n Peppers Vikrant Trivedi echoes almost similar feelings.
"With rise in cooking gas rates, our cost of production doubled, but the income remained the same. Due to stiff competition in the market, we can neither increase the price nor compromise with quality." he says, adding he is at sea over steps that could bail him out of this precarious situation.
"LPG price hike has already taken its toll on the hotel industry and tiffin centres in the city. It is just impossible for the tiffin centres to provide food twice a day for Rs 1,400-Rs1,500 per month. And students will not pay more than Rs 2,000 at any cost. In such a situation, the government leaves us with only the choice of folding up the business, says Mahendra Chug of Shree Palace Restaurant and Tiffin Centre, located in MP Nagar.
"The first month of the New Year would be the last for my year-old tiffin centre," he adds with worries writ large on his face.