It may take a few more months for piped natural gas to reach kitchens in Kochi city.
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Trenching of roads in six divisions of the Kochi Corporation for laying gas pipelines has been put on hold on account of monsoon. The State government and civic bodies usually discourage trenching during the rainy season. The Kochi Corporation too has slapped a ban on digging of roads, said an official of IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. (IOAGPL), the firm that won the bid to provide piped gas in the city.
In the initial phase, six divisions located on the flanks of the national highway were selected for the project considering logistics aspects. The officials of the company are meeting residents of Kunnumpuram, Vennala, Palarivattom, Thammanam, Chakkaraparambu and Ponnurunni East divisions who are interested in getting gas connection.
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The company is making use of the waiting period to complete laying of internal pipelines, plumbing work, and fixing of gas metres at the houses of prospective customers. Trenching work could be completed quickly once clearance is obtained. Each day, 60 to 70 applications for new connections are being received, the official said.
At present, gas is being supplied to the 11 wards of the Kalamassery Municipality and 18 of the Thrikkakara Municipality, taking the total number of connections to over 9,100, according to the official.
Meanwhile, trenching is progressing in the Thrikkakara Municipality, as the civic authorities and councillors wanted the agency to complete the process without waiting for the monsoon to be over, he said.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has authorised IOAGPL for laying, building, operating, or expanding city gas distribution projects in Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Kannur, Kasaragod, Palakkad, and Thrissur, according to the company website.