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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.

On Operation Safed Sagar anniversary, IAF highlights role of air power in Kargil and now

  • PTI
  • May 26, 2025
  • 2 min read


The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday marked the anniversary of Operation Safed Sagar, which was launched during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.


The IAF stated that the operation aimed at “flushing out Pakistani regulars and intruders” who had taken control of Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir.


“This was the first large-scale use of air power in the Kashmir region since the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Never before had an air force been tasked with such high-altitude precision operations in rugged mountainous terrain – making it a watershed moment in military aviation history,” the Air Force said in a post on X.


The IAF said Operation Safed Sagar involved the use of aircraft such as Mirage 2000s, MiG-21s, Mi-17s, Jaguars, MiG-23s, MiG-27s, Chetak helicopters, and MiG-29s, and described the mission as a “trailblazer” in many ways.


“It saw air power employed in unconventional roles, demonstrated the effectiveness of limited use of air assets in a localised conflict, and shattered the long-held notion that use of air power would inevitably escalate into full-scale war,” the post read.


“The operation not only showcased the versatility and resolve of the Indian Air Force but also established the deterrent value of calibrated air strikes – even in a low-intensity conflict. It proved that air power could decisively alter the course of battle without crossing international boundaries,” it added.


The Kargil War lasted for nearly three months on the icy heights of the Kargil mountains. It began in May 1999 when Pakistani troops and terrorists occupied peaks in the Kargil sector.


In response, India launched Operation Vijay to reclaim the occupied territory and successfully regained control by July 26 – a date now commemorated as Kargil Vijay Diwas.


The anniversary of Operation Safed Sagar comes just days after the Indian armed forces carried out strikes on Pakistani air bases.


India targeted these air bases in response to Pakistan’s drone and missile attacks that were aimed at civilian areas and military infrastructure in India’s western sector. These attacks came after Operation Sindoor, which was launched in retaliation for a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, last month.


Operation Sindoor

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting multiple terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.


The Indian armed forces destroyed nine terror camps belonging to groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen, killing over 100 terrorists.


Following these overnight operations by Indian forces, Pakistan responded with drone and missile attacks on India’s western regions. However, the Indian military successfully intercepted them. In return, India struck selected military targets deep inside Pakistan.


After four days of heavy cross-border drone and missile exchanges, both countries agreed to a ceasefire last Saturday, bringing immediate halt to military actions.

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