Mumbai, November 18: CNG pumps across Mumbai witnessed long queues for refuelling on Monday, November 17, after a major gas pipeline was damaged in Chembur on Sunday, November 16. The damage led to the disruption of CNG supply and affected thousands of autorickshaws, taxis and other CNG-run vehicles in the maximum city. It must be noted that a large number of autorickshaws and taxis, including those operated by aggregators such as Ola and Uber, and even buses run by public transport undertakings such as BEST, rely on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). In Mumbai, CNG is supplied by the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL).

CNG Supply to Hit BEST Buses Today

Speaking about restoration, MGL said that CNG supply to pumps in Mumbai will be restored by Tuesday noon, November 18. It further added that nearly 60 per cent, or 225 of the 389 CNG pumps supplying gas to the city, are operational, reports TOI. "Due to stoppage of gas supply in CGS Wadala, and thereby the MGL pipeline network, few CNG stations in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai are not operational," MGL said. While MGL has said that CNG supply will be restored by today afternoon, transportation sources have warned of the situation worsening on November 18 (Tuesday) as 44 per cent of the BEST bus fleet in the city is running out of fuel. Mumbai CNG Crisis: Autos Line Up Across City As Gas Supply Hit After Pipeline Damage (See Pics).

On Monday, BEST buses were able to ply as they had fuel filled the previous night. However, an official said that they did not have any fuel left for their CNG buses on Monday night, thereby threatening operations on Tuesday. If reports are to be believed, the CNG crisis in the city will continue today as autos and taxis will remain unavailable. The CNG supply disruption is also expected to hit more than five lakh private CNG vehicle owners in Mumbai.

When Did the CNG Crisis Begin in Mumbai?

With CNG supply taking a hit, aggregator cabs such as Ola and Uber are likely to switch to petrol, using their dual-fuel option. However, this could result in commuters facing surge pricing as fares spiked up to 2x in several areas on Monday. The CNG crisis in Mumbai began on Sunday, November 16, in the afternoon after "third-party damage" to GAIL India Ltd's gas pipeline at the RCF terminal in Chembur. This resulted in the disruption of CNG gas supply to Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) Wadala station and other stations in Mumbai. Mumbai: Private School Van Driver Molests 3 Minor Girls During Their Commute in City, Sent to 5-Day Police Custody After Arrest.

The CNG crisis affected autos, taxis, private cabs and even school buses running on CNG fuel, thereby crippling the transport in Mumbai. Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners' Association, said that around 2,000 school buses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) run on CNG and had to stay off the roads on Monday, leaving many students stranded. Notably, the CNG outage forced numerous taxis and auto-rickshaws to stay off the roads and even triggered long queues at the few pumps which received limited supply. Besides Mumbai, the CNG crisis also hit the Thane and Navi Mumbai areas.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2025 09:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).