Hotels, canteens face closure with gas shortage

Eighty percent of food outlets and canteens in government institutions including hospitals will have to close due to the shortage of standard domestic LP gas, Convener of the All Ceylon Canteen Owners’ Association Asela Sampath said.

He told the Daily News yesterday that the closure of canteens will directly affect the smooth functioning of hospitals in all 25 districts. In addition, canteens at other government institutions such as Sri Lanka Customs, the Colombo Port and Public Administration Ministry will also be closed due to this situation.

The star-class hotels also will have to face this situation soon, he pointed out.

Considering the requirement, some of the canteens had to purchase LP gas at Rs.3,000 from the black market,he said.

He urged that the government should take steps to solve the gas issue within the next two or three days in order to prevent the closure of all the food outlets and canteens throughout the country.

If not, the canteens should be provided with facilities to cook food with electricity, he urged.Asela Sampath also pointed out that although the civil activists explained to the authorities the need of providing immediate solutions to this issue, they have no sense to understand the prevailing situation.