PUNE: The Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) has stopped its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) service for four-wheelers on KB Joshi Road, Shivajinagar, opposite Sakhar Sankul to decongest traffic, which has already been diverted from Narveer Tanajiwadi and Shivajinagar ST Stand due to the ongoing Metro work. 

MNGL is planning to open a CNG station next to the Police Parade Ground on Fergusson College (FC) Road.

MNGL has asked for special permission from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for digging work to lay the pipeline at the end of FC Road. 

“We have asked for special permission from the PMC to dig the road or footpath beside Police Parade Ground at the end of FC Road to lay the pipeline for CNG. But the PMC has a policy not to allow road digging from May 1 till the end of the monsoon season. We are still waiting for a positive reply from the PMC,” said MNGL Director (Commercial) Santosh Sontakke.

“Since the CNG station on KB Joshi Road is closed for four-wheelers, they can fill CNG at RTO Circle station,” Sontakke added.

In May, the traffic police intimated the MNGL that the Shivajinagar Bus Stand road will be dug up for Metro work. Therefore, autorickshaws and four-wheelers queueing up on this road will have to be managed.

“Recently, we stopped the CNG service for four-wheelers at Shivajinagar to decongest the area. KB Joshi Path is a narrow two-way road and is congested during peak hours as four-wheelers start forming a queue,” Sontakke added.

More about CNG stations 

• There are 67 CNG outlets in Pune
• Talegaon is the receiving station of CNG while Shivajinagar is the mother station.
• CNG is supplied through a pipeline to the Shivajinagar CNG filling station while at other stations, CNG is delivered in cylinders loaded on trucks. 
• The CNG station on KB Joshi Path has four dispensing units. Until now, there were two dispensing units for autorickshaws and two for four-wheelers. Now, all four units are being used for autorickshaws only. 
• 20,000 kg of CNG was being sold per day at the CNG filling station on KB Joshi Path. As four-wheelers have stopped refilling CNG at the station, 7,000 to 8,000 kg CNG will not be utilised at that station.