Telangana Hotels Association president Saddi Venkat Reddy said “This is one of the worst phases for the food business
Hyderabad: Hotel associations bemoaned Friday’s hike in commercial prices, saying it was coming on top of the 30-40 per cent drop in customer footfall following earlier increases. They said the latest revision to a record `3,315 in Hyderabad could further strain the sector.
Small eateries and pushcart vendors, who had increased prices by 20-30 per cent in March after previous increases, said they were facing fresh pressure.
Srinivas Kumar, a pushcart operator at RP Road, said, “Rates have been revised twice recently. We had raised the price of a plate of idlis from ₹40 to ₹50. We were charging `60 for a plate of dosa, which was ₹40 earlier and which we raised to ₹50 in early March all due to the LPG price hike.” A further hike is on the anvil.
Telangana Hotels Association president Saddi Venkat Reddy said “This is one of the worst phases for the food business. Hotels, cafés and eateries have been hit hard over the past two months. With LPG costs rising by 30-40 per cent, establishments are being forced to raise prices, which is reducing footfall. The government should consider the livelihoods linked to this sector, as each eatery supports at least 50 families, directly or indirectly.”
Hotel owners said the rising input cost was affecting viability. Ramesh Patnaik, a hotel owner in Musheerabad, said, “We use at least 20 cylinders a month, and with each now costing over ₹3,000, our gas bill will rise sharply. We can’t keep raising food prices every month, customers will stop coming.”
Small businesses, particularly tiffin centres and roadside stalls, said they were the worst affected due to thin margins. Srinivas, who runs a tiffin centre in Kachiguda, said, “Earlier, we managed with small increases in cylinder prices, but now it has crossed ₹3,000. We sell idli and dosa at affordable rates for workers and labourers; if we raise prices, demand will drop. If costs don’t ease, I may have to shut the shop.”
Toufeeq, an eatery owner in Hanuman Tekdi, said “This is only the third price revision in my shop’s 20-year history, but it’s unavoidable. I’m bound to lose customers due to the increase. There’s little choice.”
The Telangana LPG Distributors Association said the revised rates marked the highest-ever prices for non-domestic LPG in India and advised consumers and commercial users to procure cylinders only from authorised distributors.
