top of page

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.

Rebuilt RSS office fuses tech with architecture

  • PTI
  • Feb 12, 2025
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 14, 2025

RSS

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has moved back its office in the city to its old address following the near completion of the rebuilding project spread across five lakh sq ft of built-up area over 3.75 acre premises, housing three 13-storey towers and around 300 rooms and offices in total.


Sources said the rebuilding exercise of the RSS office, Keshav Kunj, has cost nearly Rs 150 crore collected through contributions from over 75,000 people sympathetic to the Hindutva organisation's ideology and took over eight years, a period marked by the disruption and delay forced by the COVID-19 outbreak.


Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale will be attending a "karyakarta sammelan" of the organisation's Delhi unit on February 19 to mark the beginning of its work from the Jhandewalan office, they added.


The sources said that the RSS, which is headquartered in Nagpur, will organise its annual 'Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha', considered its apex decision-making body, in Bengaluru from March 21 to March 23.


Attended by nearly 1,500 persons, including senior functionaries of the RSS and affiliated organisations, the meet sees discussions over key germane issues besides organisational matters and resolutions are passed to outline the Sangh's positions on a host of matters. Senior BJP leaders, including the party's president, also attend the exercise.


Speaking of the rebuilt premises in the national capital, the sources said that RSS had been carrying out its activities out of a rented premises since 2016 following the beginning of the rebuilding and renovation exercise at the place out of which it had been working since 1962.


The new premise, a vast change from the earlier two-storey building, fuses modern technology with ancient architectural practices to make it airy and exposed to ample sunlight, they said, adding that Gujarat-based architect Anup Dave has designed it.


The three towers (ground floor plus 12 floors) are named Sadhna, Prerna and Archna, while one of its biggest auditoriums is named after Ashok Singhal, a leading Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary closely linked to the Ram temple movement. This modern auditorium can seat 463 persons, while another hall can accommodate an audience of 650 members.


The RSS office has accommodation facility for its functionaries and members besides a library, health clinic and its sewage treatment plant, the sources said. It also has solar power facilities to provide for a part of its total electricity needs.


The RSS-linked weeklies Panchjanya and Organiser besides publishing firm Suruchi Prakashan, which has been bringing out books and other literature hewed to the Hindutva organisation's ideology, will also have offices in the RSS premises, they added.


The health facilities will be open to the poor people living nearby and outsiders can also make use of the library facilities, the sources said.

Comments

bottom of page