App-based taxis make merry as commuters, autos lose out
For thousands of commuters, vehicle owners and auto rickshaw drivers in the western suburbs, there was no respite for a third consecutive day with the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) failing to restore supply of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to 18 filling stations in the Kandivilibhayander belt.
Several commuters complained that taking advantage of the situation where there were fewer autos on the roads, appbased taxi companies resorted to surge pricing. A commuter said that Uber charged Rs800 for a trip from Borivli to Andheri on Friday morning. Meanwhile, MGL said it will restore supply within another 48 hours, listing several reasons for the delay.
“The pipeline is located at a depth of nearly 6 metres from the ground, so a deep trench was to be dug. Owing to the loose soil, it had to be ensured that proper shuttering and shoring of the trench had to be done to avoid collapsing,” reads MGL’S statement.
Along with three BEST depots, MGL’S gas supply to 18 CNG filling stations was cut after a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) contractor damaged the company’s gas pipeline on the Western Express Highway in Malad during work on a new Metro line on Wednesday.
Immediately after the incident, MGL had first given a deadline of 24 hours to restore it. Next day, the deadline got another extension of 24 hours.
While taxi and BEST services have not been affected, auto rickshaw services, especially share auto rickshaws that ply to and fro stations in this belt were badly hit.