Hoteliers seek chief secy’s help as they face problems in procuring LPG cylinders

Bhubaneswar: Members of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) on Thursday sought the intervention of chief secretary Anu Garg to ease difficulties in procuring commercial LPG cylinders. During a virtual meeting with Garg, hoteliers from across districts said distributors are asking them to obtain permission from the district collector or SP to avail themselves of commercial cylinders for their establishments.Earlier this week, food supplies and consumer welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra had announced that hotels and restaurants would receive 40% of the commercial LPG quota. However, HRAO chairman J K Mohanty said that since then, owners are being asked to secure permission from the collector or SP and submit approval letters to distributors to obtain 19kg cylinders. "This has become an additional headache. All hoteliers who participated in the meeting raised the same concern," Mohanty said. Stating that such a process should not be necessary, Garg assured stakeholders that the issue would be looked into. Another meeting between HRAO members and Garg is scheduled for Friday.The meeting was also attended by tourism commissioner-cum-secretary Balwant Singh and civil supplies commissioner-cum-secretary Sanjay Singh.