Long vehicle queues, inflated fares, supply restoration soon: Mumbai CNG issue explained

The CNG crisis in the city led to long queues of vehicles from early morning, with several drivers claiming that the wait time for refueling their vehicles has gone up to three to four hours from the usual 15 to 30 minutes, reported news agency PTI. The Mumbai CNG issue also reportedly led to a spike in auto and cab fares in the city.

Here’s what led to CNG crisis in Mumbai and what next-

• The disruption of CNG supply in Mumbai and surrounding areas began on Sunday. According to Mahanagar Gas Limited, the gas supply problem began on Sunday after third-party damage to GAIL’s main pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF). Because of this, gas flow to MGL’s City Gate Station in Wadala — a major point that feeds CNG to the city — was disrupted, according to the PTI report.
• On Monday, MGL said that 225 of the 389 CNG pumps across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region were operational and that the supply will be fully restored expectedly by Tuesday noon.
• “Rectification work is in progress and the restoration of gas supply is expected by November 18 noon,” MGL said on Monday. It added that the Piped Natural Gas supply to households was unaffected.
• Meanwhile, there were reports that due to CNG supply disruption, the auto and taxi fares around Mumbai shot up. A user on X (formerly Twitter) said, “CNG pipeline damage in Mumbai has created a big issue. Auto drivers are charging ₹150– ₹200 for routes where the meter shows only ₹89 (MIDC to Andheri),”. He also urged authorities to take action. Another resident told HT.com that autos are charging prices as high as ₹500 just to just go to nearby metro station. Some people reportedly opted for work-from-home (WFH) due to the crisis.
• Meanwhile, MGL advised industries and commercial enterprises dependent on gas supply were to switch to alternate fuel for the time being.