Two days after snag, supply of CNG, PNG in Mumbai normalises

The disruption was caused by a technical issue at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited’s (ONGC) facility in Uran, which supplies natural gas to the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) station at Wadala.

The supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) was normalised on Sunday, two days after it was disrupted, affecting public transport services, including taxis, autorickshaws and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses.

A spokesperson of MGL, who did not wish to be named, said that the natural gas supply was normalised [on Sunday] and all CNG pumps are operational now.(HT image)

The disruption was caused by a technical issue at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited’s (ONGC) facility in Uran, which supplies natural gas to the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) station at Wadala.

A spokesperson of MGL, who did not wish to be named, said that the natural gas supply was normalised [on Sunday] and all CNG pumps are operational now. “None of the CNG stations are non-operational owing to low pressure of gas,” he said.

MGL supplies PNG to more than 12 lakh households and CNG to around seven lakh vehicles in and around the city. The problem was first reported on Friday morning, and MGL issued a statement saying that while it would maintain the supply of PNG, CNG pumps may be further affected.

By late evening, six of the city’s 133 CNG pumps were shut down, though PNG supply was less affected.

A few taxi drivers said on Sunday they had to wait for just 45 minutes at CNG pumps for refuelling, while it had taken them over two hours on Saturday.

Shashank Rao, leader of Mumbai Autorickshawmens Union, said, “The situation has improved as compared to the past two days, but it cannot be determined on Sunday, as there are fewer vehicles on the roads. We will only know the actual situation on Monday and if there has been any improvement at all.”

The BEST undertaking too has a fleet of CNG buses. However, BEST officials said they did not face major problems as they were getting their vehicles refuelled in the night.

Owing to low pressure, MGL was forced to keep two pumps shut on Saturday.

The taxi union claimed that nearly 60% cabs were off-roads on Saturday.