Agra residents to get PNG

AGRA: Around 25,000 houses of the city are set to be beneficiaries of cheaper and uninterrupted supply of cooking gas in the next two years.
Piped natural gas (PNG) is expected to be installed in Kamlanagar, Balkeshwar, New Agra and Tajnagri phase-II localities of the city. Expansion of PNG is not restricted to residential areas, as petha-making units based at Noorigate will also be able to utilize this facility.
This comes after Green Gas Limited (GGL), a private concessionaire, received permission on Monday to transmit gas through pipelines, instead of cylinders. A feasibility project was prepared by GGL and was sent to zonal office of GAIL, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and its headquarters in Lucknow for approval.
A senior official of the company, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “In the coming two years, 25,000 residents of Agra will be able to use clean, safe and cheap fuel for domestic use.”
“We expect to cover nearly 10,000 households in Kamlanagar and nearly 7,000 consumers in the newly-built Tajganj phase- II locality. We are also looking to set up this facility in 4,000 households each in New Agra and Balkeshwar,” he informed.
Uninterrupted supply of gas, greater safety during a case of leakage and freedom from booking LPG cylinders, are but a few upsides of the piped natural gas. Moreover, it is also more economical than LPG, a fact corroborated by the senior official of Green Gas Limited. “This facility is 10% cheaper than the existing LPG system, and a consumer can expect to receive uninterrupted gas supply,” he said.
At present, nearly 5,000 households and two dozen apartments in Khandari, Nirbhaynagar, Lawyers’ Colony, Professors’ Colony, Suryanagar, Delhi Gate, Gailana Road, Church Road, Bhagwan Estate, Dayalbagh and Sikandra avail this facility at Rs 21.20 per scm (standard cubic metre).
This will be a shot in the arm for the central government, which aims to provide natural gas connection to 1 crore households across India by 2019.