Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Mar 13: The work of laying the pipeline (compressed gas distribution - CGD) is going at a brisk pace in the city now. The pipes are being laid under the main roads of the city. Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) plans to start to distribute gas to at least houses located in some localities of the city by May.
On MG Road, concrete road is cut, trench is dug and then pipes are fixed horizontally. For this purpose, a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine is used. In this case, instead of digging the road all along, it is dug from the point where drilling is conducted under the surface and then the pipe is pushed through the hole. The HDD machine ensures that the pipes are fixed without any problem, duly removing obstacles under the earth if any. Internet fibre optic cables used for the internet are also fixed in the same way.
Several parts of the city were agricultural fields in the past. Even now in these areas, the water table is quite high. During pipe drilling, in areas located at a low gradient like Kodialbail, water keeps oozing, which creates problems for drilling.
M G Road is one of the main roads where density of vehicles is always high. The pipeline work has been hampering movement of people and the vehicles. There are complaints that recently built footpaths, concrete roads etc are dug and the look of this city is being distorted. The officials have requested the people to have patience, as the contracting agency will bring the roads and footpaths back to their original condition after the completion of the work.
The pipeline is proposed to be laid in 12 wards over 3.5 km area. Pipeline laying is in progress in Derebail south, Derebail west, Derebail southwest, Boloor, Mannagudda, Kambla, Kodialbail, Bijai, Kadri south, Bendore, Court, and Dongerkery wards. As many as 57,000 have registered for individual house gas connection and pipe connection has been given to 6,500 houses, the officials stated.
Piped natural gas will be supplied from the regasified liquid natural gas pipeline terminal at Arkula in the city outskirts to the city. Steel pipes are being laid for this purpose on national highway 75. The pipe will be laid for 27 km from Arkula to Surathkal via Mangaluru. Permission has been obtained for ten kms now.
Vileen Zumke, deputy general manager, GAIL, said that so far the pipe has been fixed for a distance of 13 km covering six wards.