Hon’ble Prime Minister dedicates Varanasi CGD project to the Nation

by Shrutee K/DNS 

‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’ brings eco-friendly natural gas to city 

Two CNG stations operational, 18 more to come up

PNG work for 8,000 houses completed; 1 lakh to be connected in total 

Varanasi, July 14, 2018: Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today dedicated to the Nation the Varanasi City Gas Distribution (CGD) network which will supply environment friendly natural gas to households, transport sector and industries in the city through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’. The project was dedicated in a function here in the presence of Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh Shri Ram Naik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath and a host of other dignitaries.

The foundation stone of the Varanasi CGD project had been laid by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on October 24, 2016. The Varanasi CGD network, which is being implemented by GAIL (India) Limited at a cost of Rs 755 crores, will cover 1,535 sq. km. and cater to a population of 36.76 lakhs. Two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations have started commercial operations while another 18 will be set up in the coming years. Overall, 20,000 vehicles are expected to use CNG in the city.

Besides, Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connection work for 8,000 houses has been completed which are expected to be connected by March 2019. About 1 lakh households are likely to be covered in the project. Steel pipeline has already been laid for 28 km and medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe laying for 102 km completed. About 800 km of steel and MDPE pipelines will be laid in the city as part of the project.

The CGD network will also cover four industrial areas and can cater to 150 industries and 500 commercial enterprises. It is expected to give direct employment to 1,000 people and indirect employment to many more. The Varanasi CGD project was developed simultaneously with the Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra/ Barauni- Guwahati Pipeline Project (JHBDPL/BGPL), popularly known as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’.

The pipeline project of total length 3,291 km is being executed at the cost of about Rs. 13,000 Crore. It will cater to the energy requirements of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam covering 70 districts and 3,150 villages.

Besides Varanasi, CGD networks are also being developed by GAIL at Patna, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack enroute the pipeline.