The ongoing shortage of commercial LPG gas cylinders has started affecting not only hotels and restaurants in Pune but also food delivery staff and grocery wholesalers who depend on the hospitality sector for their livelihood.
Food delivery executives working with various online platforms alleged that the number of food orders has significantly reduced over the past few days as several hotels, restaurants and mess facilities have either reduced their operations or temporarily limited their menu due to the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.
'Our income has reduced'
Dnyaneshwar Chikane, who works with Zomato, speaking to The Free Press Journal, said the number of orders has been affected in the last 2–3 days after the shortage of commercial LPG gas cylinders. "The small eateries have been affected more, due to which small orders have been reduced. We have been working for the last nine years in the company, and our survival depends on it. As the number of orders reduced, our income has also been reduced," he said.
'Spending more time waiting for orders'
Parshuram Kamble, another delivery boy, claimed that his earnings have been affected as he is receiving fewer orders compared to earlier. "Earlier, I used to deliver around 30 to 35 parcels in a day, but now it has reduced to around 15 to 20 deliveries. During peak hours, I am now spending more time waiting for orders compared to previous weeks when the demand was steady," he said.
Ganesh Bahir, a college student who does part-time delivery work, expressed that the companies are not offering part-time work for new employees due to the crisis. "Due to part-time work, we were able to earn money for education and survival. But the situation has become worse in the last few days," he said.
Meanwhile, wholesale grocery traders in the city have also observed a slight dip in sales.
Santosh Kurhade, a wholesaler of grocery items, speaking to the newspaper, said, "Hotels, restaurants and mess operators who are among our regular bulk customers have reduced purchases of food items as they have scaled down operations due to the LPG shortage. However, the reduction is not drastic yet but noticeable, especially in bulk items such as rice, pulses, cooking oil and vegetables that are usually purchased by food establishments."
