Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are gearing up for city gas distribution projects with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone for them through a video conference from Delhi today Nov 22, Thursday afternoon.

Briefing reporters on the project in Dakshina Kannada on Nov 21,Wednesday, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament, said that Rs. 1,972 crore would be invested for the first 25 years in the district. About 3.50 lakh households would be supplied with PNG, and 100 CNG stations would come up.

The project in Dakshina Kannada has been awarded to GAIL Gas Limited, while the Udupi project has been bagged by Adani Gas Limited.

Piped Natural Gas (PNG) would be supplied to industrial, commercial and domestic sectors and compressed natural gas (CNG) would be supplied to the transport sector under these projects.

The project would cover 4861 sq km area in the district. It would include five charge areas of Bantwal, Belthangady, Mangaluru, Puttur and Sullia. The project would connect hotels and restaurants in cities and towns. The main source pipeline for the project would be GAIL’s Kochi-Kotttanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru project pipeline.

Vivek Wathodkar, Chief General Manager, GAIL Gas Ltd., said that it has been targetted to provide CNG to the transport sector at five stations in Mangaluru city by March 2019. In addition, the company is aiming to supply PNG to at least 100 houses in the city by December 2019.

He said that initially, CNG would be supplied in stations in Panambur and Baikampady areas as they are close to MCF Ltd., which would get natural gas from the Kochi-Kotttanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru pipeline. Of the 444-km-long pipeline, only a 55-km-long pipeline is pending to be laid at different stretches.

Mr. Wathodkar said that households in the district would get round-the-clock supply of PNG and there would be no limit on quantity of usage. The PNG is lighter than air and hence, safe to use. Billing would be for every two months after use. Its pilferage is not possible and it is safer than LPG.

Referring to CNG, he said that it is economical than other conventional fuel. Its pilferage is not possible as it would be in gaseous form.

Union Minister for Statistics, Programme Implementation, Chemicals and Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda would be present at the local function to lay the foundation for the project in Dakshina Kannada at the Town Hall here at 2.30 p.m. Later, the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stone for the city gas distribution projects for 63 geographical areas simultaneously across the country at 3.30 p.m.