CHENNAI: As the whole country is in the grip of LPG shortage, a hotel bill from Chennai was posted on social media showing an additional charge of Rs 9.52 under the head ‘gas’. However, when DT Next approached the establishment and bought food, there was no such added amount, and the hotel staff claimed the bill in question was fake.
According to the bill dated March 12, 2026, that was posted online, the customer had one idli and one vada at Geeras Restaurant on MGR Salai in Perungudi, each costing Rs 33.33. In addition, there was another component on the bill: Gas – Rs 9.52. After adding the State and central GST, the total bill worked out to a round Rs 80.
The bill quickly went viral on social media, with many popular handles sharing it with their own comments. Some justified the additional charge while others criticised it. Those who consider themselves more careful while dealing with the present-day information ecosystem turned to the ‘wise’ one: “Is this true, @grok?’ they asked. And the AI chatbot owned by Elon Musk, who has a dicey relationship with truth, said the bill did not look AI-generated.
However, journalists from DT Next decided to do the most reliable fact-check exercise: They got off social media and went to the restaurant and bought food, but there was no ‘LPG cess’ as shown in the bill circulating on social media. When asked, the staff said they did not charge extra money for cooking gas and added that it was fake.
What is not fake is the LPG shortage. The hotel only has variety rice, fried rice, and porotta, with only one kurma to go with it all. There is just not enough cooking gas available to offer the full, usual menu.