Bhubaneswar: In an attempt to aware the auto rickshaw owners about the economic and environmental benefits of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel system, GAIL (India) Ltd has organized a workshop on CNG – a visionary step towards a greener drive on 22nd September, 2017.
The workshop was attended by auto owners who came in a large number from Bhubaneswar and were enlightened about CNG. The mass gathering was addressed by senior officials from GAIL (India), banking institutions and the Transport Department which included Sh. S.P Sharma, Ch. General Manager, Mkt, GAIL, Dr. A. Karnatak, Director (Projects), GAIL, Sh. E.S. Ranganathan, Managing Director, IGL, Sh. Chittaranjan Ray, Joint Commissioner Transport, Ch. S.K. Pathak, General Manager, GAIL, Sh. K.B. Singh, Executive Director, ER, GAIL and Hiranmoy Biswas, Chief General Manager, Zonal Head, IDBI Bank. As part of the program Dr. A. Karnatak, Director (Projects), GAIL also laid the foundation stones for establishment of CNG outlets at two IOCL Petrol pumps in Bhubaneswar.
In the workshop, the participants who were mainly auto-owners were explained about the economic benefits of CNG which is 63.6% cheaper compared to petrol and 64.11% cheaper when compared to diesel as a result an auto owner can earn around Rs 150 more a day for each 100 km running. When asked by media the benefits of CNG, Dr. Ashutosh Karnatak, Director (Projects), GAIL said, “adopting the CNG fuel system will be beneficial in multiple ways, for an individual it will save his money, for the environment it will reduce pollution and it will also save the import of petrol. Today we spent 3 lakh crore in importing petrol which can be saved and that amount can be used for the development of the nation.”
Experts also elaborated the environmental advantages of a CNG fuel system which include reducing hydrocarbon emission by 75% and CO emission by 20%. Compressed natural gas (methane stored at high pressure) is a fuel which can be used in place of gasoline (petrol), Diesel fuel and propane/LPG. It is lighter than air which makes it evaporate quickly during leakage. The ratio of carbon and hydrogen is least in methane and hence it burns almost completely making it the cleanest fuel.
Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project is also aimed at the same to provide cheaper and more environment friendly fuel to the households. The project is a 2540 km long Natural Gas Pipeline extending from Jagdishpur to Haldia and Bokaro and is estimated to be around 12,490 crores planned for five states of India including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The project is to be completed within 2018 – 2020.
Experts also threw light on the feasibility and technical specifications of the CNG Retrofitment kit, components of which have been approved by Automotive Research Authority of India (ARAI), International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) and the Petroleum Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). To further provide financial assistance for the kit to the interested people, representatives from multiple banking institutions were present at the workshop and addressed all the queries of the participants.
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