The State is going to add another feather in its cap with the launch of piped cooking gas supply in 2000 households of MECON Colony in the State Capital on Friday. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, will launch the facility under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojna (PMUGY) on Thursday.
The State Capital will also get its first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station as two stations in Ranchi- at Khukri and Ormanjhi and one in Jamshedpur at Adityapur will be launched on the occasion.
Apart from Pradhan, Union Minster for Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda, Chief Minister, Raghubar Das, Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar and State Transport Minister CP Singh will participate in the mega launching programme of domestic piped cooking gas.
Addressing a press meet on Thursday, Executive Director GAIL India Limited KB Singh said that CNG will be transported from Patna to Ranchi at initial level by special container called ‘cascade’.
“The pipeline is being under construction and likely to be completed by June, 2020. The commencement of supply of CNG is a major step towards the fulfillment of Prime Minister’s dream of developing a gas based economy and linking Eastern India to the Country’s natural gas grid through PMUGY, which will pass through six states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand , West Bengal, Orissa and Assam,” said Singh
Elaborating about the plan Singh said that in coming years 22 CNG stations will be commissioned in Jharkhand by GAIL to supply CNG to over 1.25 Lakhs vehicles and Piped Natural Gas supply to 10 lakhs 46,000 households. “City Gas Distribution projects in Ranchi and Jamshedpur are being taken up in parallel with the PMUGY. The gas pipeline will be constructed at an estimated investment of Rs 4,366 crore in Jharkhand and have length of 551 kilometer covering 12 districts including Ranchi, Chatra, Giridih , Hazaribag, Bokaro, Ramgarh, Dhanbad, Saraikela, Khunti, Gumla, Simdega and East Singhbhum,” he added.
The company plans to provide piped gas to 11,000 households in Ranchi and 8,000 households in Jamshedpur in this financial year, said Singh.
The Executive Director said that three automobile manufacturer companies Piaggio, Bajaj and TVS have agreed for supplying CNG auto vehicles. Awareness programme are also being conducted for Auto Rickshaw owners and drivers for smooth transition of CNG, he added.
Lauding the project Singh said, “CNG is one of the most environment friendly fuels as compared to conventional fuels because it has no impurities such as sulphur and lead. It is safe because it is lighter than air and rises up in case of leakage. Moreover, it is unlikely to ignite because of ignition temperature. It is also economical as compared to conventional fuels.”
