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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Gas crunch reaches Mumbai’s high-rise

Mahanagar Gas cuts PNG supply by 50 pc; biz hit Mumbai : Delivering another shock, the Mahanagar Gas Ltd. on Saturday mandated all commercial users to draw only 50 pc of their piped natural gas (PNG) supply with a warning of steep fines and abrupt cut in connection for violators, sending shockwaves in the industry.   This comes barely 48 hours after its first missive (March 12) imposing a 20 per cent  cut in PNG offtake by commercial users, which hit the bakery industry hard, amid...

Gas crunch reaches Mumbai’s high-rise

Mahanagar Gas cuts PNG supply by 50 pc; biz hit Mumbai : Delivering another shock, the Mahanagar Gas Ltd. on Saturday mandated all commercial users to draw only 50 pc of their piped natural gas (PNG) supply with a warning of steep fines and abrupt cut in connection for violators, sending shockwaves in the industry.   This comes barely 48 hours after its first missive (March 12) imposing a 20 per cent  cut in PNG offtake by commercial users, which hit the bakery industry hard, amid  speculation that lakhs of domestic PNG users may be affected next.   The MGL’s directives follow a central order (March 9), calling upon all commercial users to restrict their PNG consumption to only 50 pc of their average usage over the past six months.   The revised rules within 48 hours sent fresh shockwaves among the already panicked commercial PNG users, triggering apprehensions that even domestic consumers may feel the heat with likely ‘rationing’ of their convenient piped fuel connections.   “The gas curtailment is around 50 pc for industrial customers and 20 pc for commercial customers to maintain continuous gas supply to our CNG stations and domestic PNG customers,” a company spokesperson told  The Perfect Voice , justifying its ‘force majeure’ intimations.   Price Revision In its first order, the MGL had indicated a revision in PNG prices due to “gas pooling” arrangements, with the final rates to be announced after consultations with suppliers and the government.   Today, it willy-nilly unveiled the potential harsh hike in the rates of PNG: “We have been informed that any gas drawal by MGL exceeding permissible levels will attract a gas price of Rs 138/Standard Cubic Metre plus VAT.”   Accordingly, all commercial users have been warned that from Friday (March 13), if they cross the threshold limits (50 pc), they will be charged Rs 138/SCM  (Rs. 4091.21/MMBTU), and further usage above the permissible limits would lead to abrupt disconnection of supplies.   Piped Gas Presently, the MGL has over 30-lakh households using PNG in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), besides 5,200-plus commercial-industrial clients spread in multiple sectors, wholly dependent on piped gas connections.   Additionally, it runs 471-plus CNG stations and supplies it to more than 12-lakh vehicles including public and private transport, with plans to cover large urbanized pockets of Raigad district by 2029   Some of its bulk users include: Godrej Industries Ltd., Larsen & Toubro, Hindalco, several five-star hotels, IT companies, medicare like Asian Heart Institute or Lilavati Hospital, pharmaceutical industry, food and beverages, etc.   Home-makers howl An online achievement school ‘Multiversity of Success’ Founder Dr. Rekhaa Kale (Sion) said if the PNG cuts reach homes, it will disrupt the lives of millions of Mumbaikars. “Now, I regret giving up my LPG cylinders 10 years ago for the PM-Urja scheme, it could have been a life-saver today,” grumbled Dr. Kale.   A private nurse Kirron V. (Dahisar) rued that the real impact of gas shortage will be visible in Mumbai if domestic PNG supplies are also hit. “The so-called elite living in airconditioned high-rises sniggered and ‘looked down’ upon those sweating it out in snaky queues for a LPG cylinder,” she said sarcastically.   As the Gulf War entered the 15 th  day today, the FHRAWI-AHAR Vice-President Pradeep Shetty and other major organisations have repeatedly slammed the government for the acute short supply of LPG leading to chaos all over.

Locals looted us

Pune resident narrates his ordeal after stranded in Kashmir after the terror attack


Mumbai: What was meant to be a joyful vacation, suddenly turned into a harrowing ordeal for Pune tourists. Panic and uncertainty have gripped hundreds of tourists from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra following the terror attack in Pahalgam which had left them stranded in Jammu and Kashmir. One of the group experienced fear, extortion and uncertainty for forty long hours before safely returning home.


Vijay Parge, a Karve Nagar resident and president of Pune newspaper vendor’s association had gone to Kashmir with his family. He narrowly escaped last week's terror attack in Pahalgam. Parge recalled the horrifying experience since the attack happened just hours after he departed the strike spot.


“The Kashmir tour was a horrifying experience. We left Pahalgam in the morning, and a terror attack occurred there a few hours later. It was just by the grace of god that we escaped safely. But here the ordeal of forty hour started”, Parge told ‘The Perfect Voice’.


After the attack, Parge was one of the 22 tourists stranded in Kashmir. Due to security restrictions they were forced to change the travel plane which complicated the situation further. Parge and his family members and friends missed their scheduled flight to Mumbai and Pune.


“Our first three days were really exciting and we enjoyed Kashmir. However, the terrorist attack took place and we started facing a number of problems. Security officials change the route for safety reasons. Due to the landslide the highway was closed. At this particular juncture the extortion started. At midnight the driver demanded Rs 15,000. We were left with no option but to pay him,” he added.


“The hotel owners increased the price of snacks and refreshments. In addition to it they doubled the charges of lodging. At each and every stage additional money was demanded. Somehow, we started moving towards our home in Pune. The return journey which started on April 21, early morning concluded on late night of April 23 in Mumbai,” Parge pointed out.

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