Irregular CNG supply puts thousands of vehicle users in a fix in Udupi

Thousands of autorickshaw drivers and other vehicle owners who are using Compressed Natural Gas as an alternative fuel have been put to considerable hardship following irregular supply of the fuel in Udupi by Adani Total Gas Ltd., for over a fortnight now.

Thousands of autorickshaw drivers and other vehicle owners who use Compressed Natural Gas as an alternative fuel have been put to considerable hardship following irregular supply of the fuel in Udupi by Adani Total Gas Ltd., for over a fortnight now.

M/s Adani has bagged the contract for piped natural gas (PNG) supply under the City Gas Distribution (CGD) system for Udupi district, including CNG supply for automobiles. The company has set up eight CNG refuelling stations in the district at Hejmady, Padubidri, Kedinje, Karkala, Malpe, Udupi, Brahmavar and Koteshwar.

With the Union government pushing CNG as a cleaner and cheaper fuel, many have either purchased CNG-run vehicles or retrofitted CNG kits. Autorickshaw drivers particularly have chosen CNG in large numbers because of the higher mileage, 35-40 km/ kg, the fuel provides.

Drivers in Udupi city, who fill CNG at a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., outlet in Gundibail, said they have to wait for hours to refuel the vehicle very often. Stocks deplete fast at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. outlet in Koteshwar while supply comes late, say drivers.

An official from Adani Total Gas told The Hindu that the company obtains CNG from two mother stations at Panambur in Mangaluru owned and operated by M/s GAIL Gas Ltd. that has PNG and CNG mandate for Dakshina Kannada district. Each station has two compressors and whenever one compressor goes for maintenance, GGL accords priority to its own vehicles ignoring ATG vehicles. The company has informed this to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board too.

The problem gets more pronounced during festival seasons when a considerable number of floating traffic arrives in the district, the official said. ATG is awaiting clearance from Kudremukh Iron Ore Ltd., to set up its own mother station at Panambur, the official added.

A GGL official however refuted the charges and alleged that ATG has lesser number of vehicles to transport CNG. “We follow the first come, first served policy in filling CNG tankers.” There were some issues when GGL operated with only one mother station, however that is sorted out with the commissioning of the second mother station some seven months back, he added. He noted that Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary too was inquiring about the irregular CNG supply in Udupi district.