Nagaland: LPG, fuel price hike straining budgets

May 8, 2022 61 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 8

With the hike in the price of LPG prices, one of the immediate effects would be the increased expenses that will be borne by households and commercial establishments like hotels and restaurants and other eateries.

Aloka Sumi, a housewife in Padumpukhri, said the price hike LPG cooking gas as well as petrol would hit the domestic budget. Along with the cost of petrol which has gone up substantially, the LPG price hike will hit the daily budget for the household, she added.

According to Aloka, a single LPG cylinder lasts for about two months in her household, because she uses induction plates and other electric cookers to prepare meals for her family. Last month, a refill from the local gas agency costs her Rs 968, and totaled with delivery charges, it came out to about Rs 1,000.

Interestingly, she also stated that deliveries are very far and few in between, so she often buys refills through ‘middlemen’, paying roughly Rs 200-300 extra for the quick service. However, in view of the increase in prices again, she said that she would have to discontinue using the services of ‘middlemen’ as the agency price itself has risen above Rs 1,000.

For Avika Zhimomi who runs a restaurant and catering service in Dimapur, there has been a general spiral in the price of meat, vegetables and other ingredients because of the hike in fuel prices. “In the midst of trying to survive through the pandemic situation and recovering from the impact, the rise in LPG prices, especially for commercial cylinders, is putting us under immense pressure,” he told The Morung Express.

Similarly, Honteih Waillem who manages the logistics of both the branches of The Garden, a popular restaurant in Dimapur, noted that the price of LPG cooking gas has drastically increased over the last two years. In the year 2020, the price of a single commercial LPG cylinder fluctuated between Rs 1100- Rs 1200, but in 2021, it was increased to almost Rs 2,200, he said.

Coincidently, Waillem informed that he had bought refills for both the restaurant branches on Saturday and the cost for the commercial LPG cylinder was at Rs 2,420— twice the amount it was in 2020.

“It’s not a matter of one or two cylinders, we use almost 17 to 18 cylinders a month and the price hike is taking a big toll,” Walliem underscored.

“The price hike is very inconvenient for us because we cannot raise food prices because of it but on the other hand, we are spending a lot more on cooking gas,” he added.

Substantiating the same, Zhimomi also noted that the price hike affects all aspects of the business as the management has to make cost-cutting adjustments like downsizing the items they serve. “At times, we also have to delay salaries in order to make adjustment which is something every employer dreads because it is very unfair on our employees,” he added.

Towards this, Zhimomi said that the restaurant’s in-house food delivery system has been cancelled as the fuel costs were becoming too high to maintain.

“We also explored using electric cookers etc, but for food businesses, it is not feasible since even the power supply is erratic and in places like Dimapur, we cannot make use of fire places,” Zhimomi further added.

Meanwhile, it was also informed that the domestic LPG cylinder Walliem purchased for his home on Saturday cost Rs 1,010 . It was Rs 960 last month.

Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/nagaland-lpg-fuel-price-hike-straining-budgets