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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.

The FOMO factor

Mumbai: Fear of missing out (FOMO) is the anxiety or apprehension surrounding missing out on things often triggered by various events that other people are having more fun and getting success. Shiv Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde is passing through the same phase.


News is doing the rounds in the political circle about Shinde’s FOMO moment on Tuesday after protest in Mira Road amid the raging language row in the state. Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, a trusted aide of Shinde, tried to join the protest against the government which he is part of. MNS workers heckled him, called him a traitor, and forced him to leave.

The minister's presence at the protest rally that too organised by the opposition party raises questions. Sources have claimed that it is not possible that Sarnaik reached the protest venue without the knowledge and approval of Shinde. But since the Shiv Sena leadership has not publicly commented on this agitation the minister must have got a go-ahead from the party boss to avoid public backlash.


Shiv Sena’s alliance with the BJP and NCP has now put it on the wrong side as the Marathi vs non-Marathi debate plays out in Maharashtra. Language has historically been an emotive issue in the state, and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray has been a pioneer  of the Marathi Manoos cause. Shinde may have retained the party's name and symbol, but it is largely out of action as MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) accuse the BJP-ruled Centre of imposing Hindi and taking the fight to the streets. The Sena chief appears to be restless, fearing that arch-rival Uddhav Thackeray may reap political dividends from this issue. Due to which it is said that Shinde is having a FOMO moment as Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have taken the language issue to the streets in their own style, sources added further.


Sarnaik told ‘The Perfect Voice’, “Yes, I have decided to join the protest rally and accordingly I went there. But the MNS workers forced me to leave the spot. There is no politics in it. You people can say anything but I went there for the cause and nothing else.”


When asked whether your party chief granted the permission to attend the protest, Sarnaik screamed and said, “Please don’t ask me such questions. My party chief will take a call on this. You people are unnecessarily blowing the issue out of proportion.”


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