Gas crunch cripples MMR industries

Production plummets in Kalyan-Dombivli and Ambernath MIDC industrial zones as half the 300,000 migrant workers head home; industry bodies hope for bailout

THANE: Industrial production in the Kalyan-Dombivli and Ambernath MIDC industrial zones has been halved as the acute shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and piped natural gas (PNG) forces migrant workers to return to their native villages.

Thane: The complete unavailability of the 5 kg Free Trade LPG (FTL), used by migrant workers who often lack residential proof, has forced more than fifty percent of workers to migrate to their native states, and if the situation doesn’t improve in a few days, another 30 percent are ready to move. The remaining workers are forced to cook their food on earthen or makeshift ovens made of bricks and using firewood, which is also in short supply.Pic by Pramod Thane: story by Kaptan Mali Thursday.Pic on Thursday in India on 26 2026 - ( Photo By Pramod Tambe

Industrial bodies representing the manufacturing units in these two zones claim that around half the 300,000-odd workers, who run the manufacturing and other processes in these areas, have left. It’s a question of survival, they explained, as the LPG and PNG shortage due to the war in West Asia has left them without the means to cook their meals.

For those hoping to brave it out, exhaustion is already setting in. Gulab Chand Nishad, who works in a Bombay Dyeing factory in the Dombivli MIDC, cooks rice on a makeshift oven made of bricks. “I have just returned after a night shift, and have spent two hours trying to cook on a chullah. I am exhausted but, after I eat, I will have to start searching for firewood for tomorrow,” says Nishad, a native of Allahabad who lives at Pandurang Wadi in Dombivli east. “I’ve been doing this for the last 20 days. I’ll wait for another week and then decide whether or not to leave.”

The industrial belt is currently receiving only half its daily LPG/PNG requirement, which has badly hit the 100-odd canteens that cater to the workers, according to Ghorpade.

The second industrial zone, the Additional Ambernath MIDC, is located on the other side of the Katai-Badlapur Road. It houses 1,800 manufacturing units, 70% of them engaged in engineering and 30% in chemical manufacturing. Both require a regular supply of LPG/PNG gases for welding, cutting and melting activities and are therefore badly hit by the current shortage.

According to Makarand Pawar, vice-president of the Additional Ambernath Manufacturing Association (AAMA), production in this zone too has halved due to escalating raw material costs, project delays, and worker migration.

“If the war continues much longer, SMEs will require a financial bailout package from the state government. Mahanagar Gas Ltd, which supplies PNG to the industries, has issued a circular stating that it will charge three times the rate for PNG if consumption increases beyond 50%,” Pawar said. He added that in the last 25 days, more than 30% of workers from his own factory have left for their native villages.

AAMA president Umesh Tayade said over 100,000 workers are employed in this industrial zone but the LPG/PNG shortage has forced around half the migrant workers, who mainly hail from UP, Bihar and West Bengal, to return home.

Tayade said it was unfortunate that the government is focusing on domestic consumers, not small industry. “In other states, their governments are maintaining supply to industries,” he claimed. “Initially, industries tried to help the migrant workers by providing induction cookers and community cooking facilities, but these efforts were not sustainable,” he added.

Lakhan Valimik Rathod, a worker at the Dombivli MIDC, said that after they ran out of LPG, they used firewood and other discarded material to power makeshift sigdis. “There is no wood left and scrap shops have started collecting and selling scrap wooden furniture, cardboard etc, charging ₹500- ₹1,000 for a small heap,” he said.

Another worker, Chandrabhan Nishad, said, “Until now, our employer has been supplying us firewood that arrives in a tempo. How long will he be able to help us? Most of us are waiting for our month-end salary and will probably leave for our home towns after that.”