Eateries may raise prices in next two months

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Hoteliers in Bengaluru and across the state are mooting raising the price of items on their menus in the backdrop of the sharp rise in the value of fuel and raw materials.

The deliberations come in the backdrop of the Centre reducing the price of LPG commercial cylinders by Rs83. Hoteliers had pointed out that the prices of the cylinder had shot up by Rs 351 in March alone and the reduction was not adequate. The 19 kg commercial cylinder will cost Rs2,107 from April 1.

Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels’ Association (BBHA) members including the organisation’s president PC Rao had met with Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli on Saturday and told him that their sector had been under immense pressure and requested relief for the same. What is also relevant to the discussion is that the prices of other fuels – petrol and diesel – have also skyrocketed. In Bengaluru, petrol costs Rs 101.94 per litre while you have to shell down Rs 87.89 for a litre of diesel.

This has caused the cost of transportation to shoot up and has subsequently made every transported good more expensive, including raw materials like grains, vegetables, milk, yogurt, ghee and other commodities. BBHA followed up their visit to minister Teli with a meeting of their own on Monday under which they decided that they would keep an eye on developments the next two months and then consider passing on their burden to customers.

“A special meeting of Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels’ Association was conducted on Monday. In it, we mainly discussed the possibility of raising prices in hotels. Although the prices of gas and items are touching the sky, we have resolved to not raise the prices of snacks and meals in the interest of our customers for now. However, we will wait for the next two months and study the prices of raw materials and then take a decision about raising prices of our items,” Rao said.