Mumbai runs out of gas as CNG supply is hit

Borivli resident Nikita Panchalrsquos frustration grew every time she tried to flag an auto but found it full ldquoIrsquom trying to get an auto for the past 20 minutes Donrsquot know where all the autos have disappeared My daughter is already late for her schoolrdquo Panchal was among thousands of Mumbaikars who suffered on Friday as scores of autos and taxis waited in serpentine queues at fuel pumps due to a shortage of CNGAutos wait for CNG near a fuel station on SV Road Borivli on Friday PicSatej ShindeAt many fuel stations the queue for compressed natural gas CNG was longer than a kilometre as Mahanagar Gas Limited cited sudden spurt in demand for the supply constraints But this threw the routine of citizens off the kilter as fewer autos taxis and aggregator cabs ran on Mumbairsquos streetsNikita Panchal of Borivli West said she struggled to find an auto to take her daughter to her school ldquoIrsquove been waiting for the past 20 minutes but all the autos are full There are fewer autos on the road today Wersquore already late for my daughterrsquos schoolrdquo Like Panchal many parents had a nightmarish experience in hailing autos and taxisAlso Read Mumbai Citizens raise red flag over tricolour festOn Thursday at around 1155 pm many CNG stations shut business citing disruption in gas supply The manager of a petrol pump near the Dahisar toll naka told midday ldquoIf the pressure is less than 210 the supply of CNG is cut off When the pressure increases the supply becomes smoother but there has been no gas supply since midnight I later learnt there is a shortage of CNGrdquoThe scene at Kandivli on Friday PicNimesh DaveFestivities holidays behind demand MGLThe supplier of CNG released a statement to explain the shortage It said ldquoOwing to festivities holidays and approaching extended weekends there has been a significant increase in vehicular movement Such enhanced traffic coupled with congestion due to heavy rains has led to an unexpected increase in CNG demandKishan Singh bank employeeThis sudden spike in demand of CNG on the face of limited gas availability resulted in reduction of network pressure at extreme ends leading to tripping of a few CNG stations due to low pressure MGL is taking steps to augment gas supplies by contracting for additional Market Determined Priced gas to maintain system hydraulics The interim inconvenience is regrettedrdquoSanjay Waynandu cab driverBanker to cab driver all hitNikita Panchal Borivli residentlsquoIrsquom trying to get an auto for the past 20 minutes I donrsquot know where all the autos have disappeared My daughter is already late for schoolrsquoDurgesh Mishra staffer at a Dahisar petrol pumplsquoI donrsquot know the exact reason but the pressure was too low due to which we stopped the refuelling work at midnight Around 8 am we got enough pressure to refuel but it is still fluctuatingrsquoRahul Kapoor motoristlsquoI waited for a long time in the morning and left I have come again and now waiting for past half an hour Hopefully Irsquoll be getting CNG This has caused a lot of inconvenience I had to go somewhere for work but there was no fuel in the carrsquoRamakant Prajapati auto driverlsquoItrsquos been more than 3 hours since Irsquove been waiting in a queue Half of the day is already wasted but there is no option leftrsquoRamesh Pandey auto driverlsquoI went to gas stations at Mira Road Dahisar toll Naka Borivli and Kandivli but no luck Finally I returned to Dahisar toll naka and have been waiting for 3 hours There is a kilometrelong queue but gas is available here at the momentrsquo1155 pmTime on Thursday when pumps ran out of CNG