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Bhubaneshwar: The Rs 1,750 crore City Gas Distribution (CGD) project which will be rolled out to the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack was launched in Bhubaneshwar today by Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“The project which has been launched today will see pipelines for natural gas delivery being laid in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and subsequently to other major cities across Odisha,” said Pradhan.
Natural Gas will be supplied through the Jagdishpur Haldia & Bokaro Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL), popularly known as 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga.'
According to sources, total investments worth Rs 5,700 crore have been planned for Odisha under the CGD and Urja Ganga programs. GAIL (India) Limited is implementing JHBDPL as well as the CGD networks. GAIL Gas is a subsidiary of GAIL engaged in CGD activities.
Households and small industries in the two cities can avail Piped Natural Gas (PNG) while vehicles can use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) once the CGD network becomes operational.
The Bhubaneshwar CGD project will benefit around 25 lakh people in Khordha district and around 2.5 lakh households will be supplied with piped domestic natural gas. Moreover, 24 CNG stations will be commissioned in the first three to five years to supply CNG fuel to around 1 lakh vehicles.
Similarly, in Cuttack around 26 lakh people will be benefited by this project while 2.5 lakh households will get PNG connections.
In Odisha, the pipeline will be constructed at an estimated investment of Rs 4,000 crore and have a length of about 762 km covering 13 districts.
Also Read: City Gas project to be launched in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack
Prior to the launch event, controversy surfaced after the names of 2 Odisha ministers, Ashok Chandra Panda and Pushpendra Singhdeo were removed from the event’s invitation card. Peeved over such omission, the ruling-BJD said that it is a sign of intolerance on the part of the BJP-led central government.
“To first include the names and subsequently removing them is not at all courteous and is a sign of their intolerance,” said Panda adding that it could have been done due to pressure from the BJP members.
“GAIL is the organizer of the event and they can give the right answers. BJP never indulges in exerting pressure on anyone in these kinds of issues,” Odisha BJP spokesperson, Sajjan Sharma.
We had sent them invitations and followed up with them. But they had some other engagements for which they are not coming to the launch event, said Project director of Gail, Ashutosh Karnatak.
