Udupi facing dearth of CNG supply, says Yashpal Suvarna

Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna appeals for increased CNG supply due to shortage affecting auto rickshaw drivers.

Yashpal Suvarna, Udupi MLA, said that Udupi district is facing a dearth of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for automotive applications.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post on Thursday, May 2, he appealed to the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri to look into the issue and help to increase CNG supply to the district.

The MLA said in his post: “...Number of CNG operated vehicles is increasing in Udupi, but in the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Autorickshaw drivers stand in long queues between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. About two to three loads of CNG are supplied via tankers to the bunks every day, but this fuel quickly runs out. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers, have to wait for long hours to get their fuel tanks filled. There are three CNG filling stations — one each at Udupi City, Koteshwara, and Brahmavara — in operation in the district. Due to the school holidays (vacation), the tourism activity in the district is picking up. Also, citizens depend on autorickshaws due to the summer climate.”

Meanwhile, some autorickshaw drivers led by K. Krishnamurthy Acharya, president of Yashodha Auto Union met the Udupi Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari on Friday, May 3, and appealed to her to intervene to address the issue of shortage of CNG.

Mr. Acharya said that the district had over 5,000 CNG operated vehicles. Of them about 1,500 vehicles are in Udupi taluk.

Shortage in supply has hit auto rickshaw drivers hard. The drivers have been forced to stand in queue for three to four hours to get fuel tanks filled. It has affected the daily earning.

They also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner on the occasion. Some Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leaders were also present on the occasion.