Dist sees 25k piped gas connections in April & May amid govt push

Pune: There has been an unprecedented rise of 25,000 connections of piped natural gas across Pune district in April and May compared to 11,000 in March because of increasing demand and price hike of LPG cylinder and some shortage amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, coupled with the govt’s push to choose PNG.Senior officials of the Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) told TOI: “We are catering to the arising demand and ensuring that connections are provided to housing societies.”Officials said the sharp rise in demand followed the Centre and the state’s directives urging residents in areas with pipeline connectivity to shift from LPG cylinders to PNG within the next three months.MNGL officials said the Centre’s policy to reserve gas for household consumers has ensured domestic PNG supply in Pune district remained secure. “The supply to all 8.7 lakh domestic PNG consumers in Pune district will remain uninterrupted,” an official said.Meanwhile, MNGL conducted awareness camps in nearly 1,000 housing societies across the district to boost awareness and increase adoption. The company intensified outreach through newspaper advertisements, social media campaigns and radio jingles.Officials said customers registering for new PNG connections were being offered a direct discount of Rs500 in their first bill, while additional application charges had been waived. Consumers could also avail discounts of up to Rs15,500 under various schemes, subject to terms and conditions.Residents may apply for new connections through MNGL’s official website or the MY MNGL mobile application, officials added.However, several housing societies in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad said they were awaiting connections despite applying. “We have been told that there is a queue and we would get the connection soon. However, there has been no movement from the MNGL’s side,” said a member of a housing society in Kondhwa.Member of a society managing committee VR Rao said the state govt should create greater awareness about PNG use and introduce a single-window system to obtain connections and surrender LPG cylinders to distributors. “There is no clarity on the process,” he said.At present, MNGL operates a 2,385km pipeline network across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Officials said infrastructure expansion is being accelerated to ensure quicker gas connections amid rising demand.