Mysuru/Bengaluru, 14 March

Mysuru hotel owners urged the Karnataka government to divert at least 20 per cent of the LPG supplied to the State to the hotel sector.

Speaking to reporters, Mysuru Hotel Owners Association President M Narayanagowda said that due to the hotel closure, tomato rates fell to Rs 3 per kg while onion rates fell to Rs 10 per kg.

He warned that if the State government makes the industry wait for a few more days, the entire economy will feel the heat.

Among the 1,500 hotels in Mysuru, around 10 per cent of them have closed due to the non-availability of commercial cylinders, he said.

Even though Mysuru hotels are continuing to serve using other fuel sources such as electric stoves or firewood, the scarcity of commercial cylinders has affected their business, Narayanagowda said.

About 13 lakh people involved directly and indirectly in this hotel business will be affected by the crisis if the issue continues, the association said in a bulletin, noting that about 25,000 labourers were also involved in the hotel business in Mysuru and around 3 lakh in Bengaluru. 

“The life of these labourers will also be miserable if the government fails to initiate measures,” Narayanagowda said. “Dosa-making hotels are the worst hit.”

Narayanagowda also warned that tourism will also take a hit in Mysuru if the State government neglects to ensure commercial cylinders to hotels.

Mysuru city attracts 50,000 tourists on regular days and about 2-3 lakh tourists on weekends. The bookings in the hotels and rooms have also been hit, he said.

The State government has said that the issue may take up to 10 days to resolve.

Bengaluru hotel owner writes to PM

Roopa Shastri, the owner of Rasapaka Hotel in Bengaluru's Gandhinagar, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of women entrepreneurs. She also requested special attention to the hotels run by women.

"With a more than 50 per cent reduction in the supply of commercial cylinders, it is becoming impossible to run hotels," she wrote in the letter.  "(This) is an obstacle to women's empowerment.”

Govt warns against LPG hoarding, black marketing

Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said the police have been instructed to take legal action against those involved in hoarding and black marketing of LPG cylinders. Amid supply constraints caused by the West Asia conflict, he expressed hope that the supplies would be restored at the earliest.

He said in Tumakuru that instructions have been given to police across the State.

“The shortage of commercial cylinders is throughout the country...The Prime Minister and the Central government have assured us that they will supply,” Parameshwara noted.

Other Congress leaders took a sharper tone against the Centre.

“This crisis has been formulated by the BJP. This is nothing but a disastrous policy by the Central government. What was the need for Modi to visit Israel two days prior to the war? What did he achieve?” IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge told press in Bidar.

“If there is no crisis why is the Essential Services Maintenance Act invoked?” he asked.

Similarly, Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said that the Centre should’ve anticipated the crisis and prepared for it.

“Everybody knew what was going to happen and they (Centre and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri) should have anticipated this situation,” he said.

It’s for oil, not democracy: CPI(M) protests in Mysuru

Members of the CPI(M) protested in Mysuru on Saturday protested the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and said the attacks were by capitalist countries seeking to exploit natural resources from an oil-rich nation and not establish democracy or stop nuclear proliferation like US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had claimed.

Calling for international peacekeeping organisations like the UN to intervene, the protesters said that the US and Israeli forces must stop killing women, children and other civilians by attacking schools, hospitals and educational institutions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also attempt to end the war, the demonstrators demanded.

CPI(M) District Secretary Jagadeesh Surya, Socialist Unity Centre of India District Secretary Ravi, Ramakrishna, progressive personalities Savitha Mallesh, T Gururaj, Odanadi Stanely, Riatha Sangha leader Hosakote Basavaraj, Prof Kalachannegowda were present among others.