Amid reports of shortage of PNG and CNG in the country, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has assured consumers that the supply of PNG for cooking at home and CNG for vehicles will continue without any interruption. The company said that despite the fluctuations in the global energy market due to the increasing conflict in the Middle East, the supply of gas will not be affected. However, there was news of shortage of CNG from some cities of the country. It was being told that due to this the fare of CNG auto rickshaw has increased.
This assurance has been given after the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026, which came into effect on March 9. Under this order, the supply of domestic PNG and CNG has been given the highest priority. The company said in its statement that as per the instructions of the government, the supply of PNG for homes and CNG for public and private vehicles will be continued, so that the transportation system in the cities remains normal. IGL also said that it will continue to work to provide better service keeping in mind the needs of the customers and maintain the quality of its services. In fact, this announcement has come at a time when due to the ongoing tension in the Middle East, there has been increased instability in the energy markets around the world and there is concern about the supply of crude oil and natural gas.
Auto unions warned
It was claimed in some media reports that due to shortage of fuel, the number of vehicles plying on the roads of Chennai is decreasing rapidly. Tamil Nadu Auto Thozhilalargal Sammelanam state executive president S Balasubramaniam said that about 25% of gas-powered autos could not get gas yesterday. He warned that if this shortage continues, more autos may be shut down and the livelihood of thousands of drivers may be at risk. Many drivers had switched to gas for better mileage, but now they are forced to switch to petrol again, due to which their daily earnings are reducing significantly.
Higher fares are being charged in Mumbai also
Here, in Mumbai too, due to shortage of CNG fuel, passengers are facing a lot of trouble for the past few days. Due to non-availability of CNG at most of the pumps in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, the number of autos and taxis on the roads has reduced. Taking advantage of this, some auto drivers are charging arbitrary fare from passengers. This problem has arisen due to a fault in the main gas supply pipeline of the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) at the National Chemical and Fertilizer (RCF) complex in Chembur. This fault has affected about 133 CNG pumps, due to which the drivers have to stand in long queues to fill the gas.
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