Mumbai CNG Shortage Hits Daily Life: Rush At Pumps, Chaos For Cabs At Airport, School Bus Ops Hit

Demand for compressed natural gas in Mumbai saw a major spike on Monday as the supply took a hit after a major gas pipeline faced damage, affecting taxi cabs, autorickshaws, school buses and other services that utilised CNG vehicles.

The gas, supplied by Mahanagar Gas Ltd., fuels many of the autos and cabs operated by ride aggregating platforms like Uber and Ola, along with buses used for public transport.

The company issued a statement on Sunday night, stating the disruption in supply took place owing to third-party damage from GAIL's main gas supply pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers compound, negatively impacting its flow to its City Gate Station at Wadala, a primary entry point for gas supply in Mumbai.

The compromised supply led to reduced pressure throughout the network, with many CNG stations in Mumbai, neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai operating at limited capacity or temporarily shutting down, causing long lines and lengthy wait times for those seeking to refuel.

Virat Singh, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a former journalist, made a post on X, reporting "super chaos" at Mumbai Airport due to shortage of cab services.

"There is always an option of the Metro as the CSMIA T2 metro station is there," Singh said.

The shortage is likely to affect transport availability during the day.

Anil Garg, leader of a school bus operator's body, said their operations were hit due to the CNG shortage.

"Many school buses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are facing problems in getting CNG," Garg said, adding that they have been forced to combine the school bus routes.

It advised industrial and commercial consumers in affected areas to switch to alternate fuel until restoration.

"Gas supplies across MGL's network will normalise once the damage is rectified and supply is restored to CGS Wadala," MGL said, while regretting the inconvenience caused.

The company has not provided a timeline for the full restoration of supply.

(With PTI Inputs)