The Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd (BGL), a joint venture of the Gas Authority of India (India) Ltd. and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., is all set to come out with four more compressed natural gas (CNG) dispensing stations in the city soon. The move is expected to meet increasing demand and heavy rush at the existing five CNG stations here.
The BGL is currently operating one mother station and four CNG retailing stations and it is also having two exclusive CNG stations for the AP State Road Transport Corporation to enable it to run CNG buses numbering nearly 340. It has been the goal of the BGL to set up exclusive CNG stations in all the RTC bus depots in the next three years in the district.
Regarding the setting up of CNG retailing stations, BGL executive director C.A. Rasheed says that plans are under way to come up with four more stations in the city in order to meet the requirements of consumers. At the CNG stations already present in the city, heavy rush is being witnessed, especially with CNG autorickshaws standing in long queues for the fuel. “We are aware of this demand. Additional stations will come up and we are working actively on this,” he says. With reports of qualitative change in air quality in other cities where CNG is used widely, the officials are actively pursuing efforts at increasing use of CNG in tier-II cities like Vijayawada as well. In Delhi, where CNG is introduced on a large scale, it is perceived to have yielded good results in terms of environment.
‘Safe and economic'
Similar benefits can also be enjoyed to a larger degree if all buses and autorickshaws are converted to CNG in a phased manner. The officials say that CNG fuel is used at a far less pressure when compared to LPG and this is why the CNG is safer and more economic fuel. The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is heavier than air, which is why it is considered less safe than CNG. Improving and increasing CNG retailing stations and their network is part of the overall infrastructure that the BGL has to create in the city at a cost Rs. 500 crores in the next five years. The other components include City Gas Distribution (CGD), which involves piped natural gas (PNG).
