Increase minimum cab fare to Rs 30 from the existing Rs 25, say kali-peeli taximen. Their demand has come on the heels of a fresh increase in CNG prices on Friday. “We had written to the government to help us out when prices of natural gas were raised the last time, but there has been no response. Now, there is yet another price rise. We wrote to Ashish Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary of Maharashtra, on Saturday for a revision of the minimum base fare for black-and-yellow taxis from Rs 25 to Rs 30,” Anthony L Quadros, general secretary of Mumbai Taximens Union, told mid-day. In his letter, he wrote, “Taxi drivers will have no option but to dump their taxis on the road instead of operating on the loss of Rs 120 daily.”

Mahanagar Gas Limited on Friday issued a note stating that in order to meet the shortfall in domestic gas allocation, it is sourcing additional natural gas (imported RLNG) to cater to the increasing requirement of CNG and Domestic PNG segments. “On account of substantial increase in imported RLNG price, MGL’s input cost has also increased substantially. To partially offset the increase, MGL is constrained to increase the delivered price of CNG by Rs 2.00/kg and Domestic PNG by Rs 1.50/SCM in and around Mumbai, with effect from midnight of December 17, 2021,” the note said.