Representative image only. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
Compressed natural gas (CNG) pumps in Mumbai on Monday (Nov 17, 2025) witnessed long queues for refueling after a major gas pipeline was damaged, disrupting supplies and affecting thousands of CNG autorickshaws, taxis and other vehicles.
“Several CNG pumps in the city remained closed since morning due to low gas pressure,” said a representative of a local petrol dealer.
A large number of autorickshaws and taxis, including those operated by aggregators such as Ola and Uber, and some buses operated by public transport companies in the city rely on CNG supplied by Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL).
In a statement issued on Sunday evening (Nov 16, 2025), MGL said the disruption occurred due to third-party damage to GAIL’s main gas pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) premises, affecting flow to its City Gate Station (CGS) in Wadal, a key entry point for gas supplies to Mumbai.
The affected deliveries led to reduced pressure across the network, with many CNG stations in Mumbai, neighboring Thane and Navi Mumbai operating at reduced capacity or temporarily shut down, resulting in long queues and extended waiting times for refuelling. The shortage is likely to affect the availability of transport during the day.
Mumbai has 130 to 140 CNG pumps, including MGL’s own facilities. Many CNG pumps in the city were out of order since morning due to low pressure in the gas supply, Petrol Dealers Association (Mumbai) president Chetan Modi told PTI.
He said that when he spoke to MGL officials some time ago, he was informed that the work to restore normal CNG supply is on a war footing and it may take a whole day to completely restore the damaged pipeline at RCF.
“I have kept my own pump closed since morning as there is no pressure (gas supply),” Mr Modi said. Anil Garg, head of the school bus operator’s body, also said that their operations have been hit due to shortage of CNG.
“Many school buses in the Mumbai metropolitan area are facing problems in getting CNG,” Mr. Garg said, adding that they were forced to merge school bus routes.
MGL said it has prioritized supply to domestic consumers to ensure uninterrupted availability of natural gas (PNG) to households. It advised industrial and commercial consumers in affected areas to switch to alternative fuel until restoration.
“Gas supply in the MGL network will be normalized once the damage is cleared and supply to CGS Wadala is restored,” MGL said, regretting the inconvenience caused. The company did not provide a timetable for the full restoration of supplies.
Published – 17 Nov 2025 12:42 IST
