The City Gas Distribution (CGD) Project has taken a leap after the lockdown with GAIL Gas Ltd. installing domestic piped natural gas (PNG) and meter connections, though these are yet to be supplied with gas, in 2,450 houses in six wards in the city.
According to Deputy General Manager, CGD Projects, and officer in-charge of the company Vilin Zunke, about 17,000 consumers in 32 of the 60 wards have now registered for PNG connections for kitchen use. Of these, 2,450 consumers were given connections since over a month after the lockdown restrictions were eased.
Connections have been given in Derebail South (Ward 24), Derebail South West (Ward 26), Kodialbail (Ward 30), Bejai (Ward 31), Kadri North (Ward 32) and Kadri South (Ward 33).
He told The Hindu that in the first phase, Mangaluru City Corporation has permitted the company to lay pipeline network to a length of 60 km to supply natural gas in six wards. Of this, a 12-km-long network will be of steel pipeline to be laid on the sides of main roads which will supply gas through 48-km-long ward-wise network of medium density polythene (MDM) pipeline.
The company will begin laying pipelines either this month-end or in November after paying the prescribed fee to the civic body, he said and added that the process of fee payment is on.
Mr. Zunke said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has allowed laying 10-km-long main steel pipeline on the highway between Arkula and Padil and between Panambur and KIOCL in the first phase. The total length of the steel pipeline to be laid along National Highways Nos 66 and 75 would be over 40 km.
The city will source natural gas from the main Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline which is on the verge of completion. Gas will be supplied to houses through a network of pipelines to be laid along the two highways, main city roads and interior roads in wards.
He said that GAIL has authorised two direct marketing agencies — Amoeba Events Pvt. Ltd. and Yogmaya & Co — in Mangaluru to collect registrations on its behalf. Representatives of these two agencies are collecting registrations from houses and apartments.
