CNG Crisis: Commuters Struggle As Autos And Taxis Remain Off Roads On Tuesday, Restoration Work Underway

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pumps in Mumbai witnessed long queues for refuelling even on Tuesday after a major gas pipeline was damaged, disrupting supply and affecting thousands of autorickshaws, taxis, and other CNG-run vehicles.

Commuters also expressed frustration about a 2-day CNG supply halt in Mumbai, which has severely disrupted daily life.

A commuter wrote, "Autos and taxis have vanished from the roads, making it difficult for people to commute. This has not only affected daily routines but also caused significant inconvenience to those heading to offices and other essential destinations."

Some complained about triple fares for a shorter commute.

A user wrote, "Is CNG shut in Mumbai? Meter rickshaws are charging three times the regular fare, what the hell?" while another said, "This guy asking 900 rupees from Lokhandwala to T2 !!! Citing #cng issue."

Commuters also reported of long queues of autos even on Tuesday. A commuter from Borivli suburb said,"Just saw a queue of rickshaws starting from Shri Krishna Nagar near SGNP, going inside Kulupwadi, and then back onto the WEH up to Magathane CNG station. That's more than a kilometre.

A large number of autorickshaws and taxis, including those operated by aggregators like Ola and Uber, and some buses run by public transport undertakings in the city, rely on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) supplied by MGL.

Leaders of unions representing black-and-yellow taxis and autorickshaws claimed drivers spent longer time in CNG pumps queues due to the outage. Mumbai Taximen's Association leader DA Salian said that even though some taxis were on the road as they had refilled CNG yesterday, but as they have exhausted it, the majority of taxis may remain off the roads on Tuesday.

In a statement issued on Sunday night, MGL said the disruption occurred due to third-party damage to GAIL's main gas supply pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) compound, affecting flow to its City Gate Station (CGS) at Wadala, a key entry point for gas supply to Mumbai.

MGL in a statement on Monday said, "Due to third-party damage to main gas supply pipeline of GAIL inside RCF premises at Trombay, the gas supply at MGL’s City Gate Station (CGS) at Wadala has been affected since yesterday."

"MGL is ensuring supply to its domestic PNG consumers on priority without interruption. However, due to stoppage of gas supply in CGS Wadala and thereby the MGL pipeline network, few CNG stations in Mumbai, Thane & Navi Mumbai are not operational. Currently, out of MGL's total 389 CNG stations, 225 CNG stations are operating," it added

The MGL said that gas supplies across the network will normalise once the damage is rectified and supply is restored to CGS Wadala. The rectification work is in progress and the restoration of gas supply is expected by today, by November 18, 2025, noon.