A damaged gas pipeline caused massive disruptions in the supply of CNG to pumps, halting traffic in the busy financial capital on Monday and Tuesday.
Long queues could be spotted across CNG pumps in Mumbai and neighbouring areas as drivers – particularly of black-yellow taxis and autorickshaws – reportedly waited for four hours or more to refuel their vehicles, which usually takes 15 to 30 minutes.
As per Mahanagar Gas Limited, the disruption began on Sunday after third-party damage to GAIL’s main supply pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) compound hit gas flow to MGL’s City Gate Station at Wadala – a key entry point for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) supply to the city.
MGL on Monday evening said full restoration was expected by Tuesday afternoon, as it had prioritised supply to residential consumers and advised industrial and commercial users in affected pockets to shift to alternate fuel until full restoration.
“Rectification work is in progress and the restoration of gas supply is expected by November 18 noon,” it said, adding that the Piped Natural Gas supply to households remained unaffected.
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“Gas supplies across MGL’s network will normalise once the damage is rectified and supply is restored to CGS Wadala,” it added, while expressing regret over the inconvenience caused.
Mumbai city has around 150 CNG pumps, and many remained non-functional since Monday morning due to low gas pressure, according to the Petrol Dealers Association.
While some app-based cabs switched to petrol, a majority of black-yellow taxis, which removed their petrol option to reduce maintenance costs, had no such fallback and were forced to halt operations, dealers said.
“I’ve been waiting in the CNG pump queue since 4 am and I still don’t know when my vehicle will be refilled, as there are scores of taxis ahead of me,” Sitaram Rajak, a taxi driver said.
He was waiting in the long queue at the Tardeo MGL CNG pump for refilling and had hoped for a refill of CNG early to earn while fewer cabs plied.
Pumps with low pressure were forced to either reduce dispensing or shut operations temporarily, petrol dealers said.
Sources in the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking said some of its CNG buses were delayed or forced to curtail routes due to the affected supply at a few depots. The utility, however, officially maintained that operations were unaffected.
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