Mumbai CNG crisis: Can city's crippled transport system recover by Tuesday?

Mumbai CNG crisis

A solution is in sight for Mumbai’s crippling CNG shortage, with gas utility Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) announcing it expects to restore full supply to the city by noon on Tuesday, November 18.

The update, conveyed via a press statement, follows a day of severe disruption that paralysed much of the city's transport network. The crisis was caused by a complete stoppage of supply at the CGS Wadala facility, which feeds directly into MGL's pipeline network.

"The rectification work is in progress and the restoration of gas supply is expected by tomorrow, i.e. by 18th November 2025, noon," MGL stated, as reported by PTI on Monday.

This timeline offers a clear endpoint to the chaos that gripped Mumbai on Monday, which saw long queues of autorickshaws, cabs and private vehicles at functioning CNG stations. The scarcity led to a sharp spike in auto fares as available vehicles became scarce, causing significant hardship for daily commuters.

An HT report detailed the scale of the outage, which affected stations across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai. Of the 398 CNG pumps in the metropolitan region, many were forced to reduce dispensing or shut down temporarily due to critically low pressure in the pipelines.

In a note of reassurance for the city's residents, MGL confirmed that its piped natural gas supply to homes for cooking and other domestic uses has remained unaffected throughout the incident.

For commercial operators, the company has advised a continued switch to alternate fuels until the supply is fully restored at noon on Tuesday. The announcement provides a crucial deadline for the city’s transport operators and commuters, marking the anticipated conclusion of an over 24-hour period of severe disruption.