Cuttack: Ten compressed natural gas (CNG) stations will come up in the city, an official said on Friday.

Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga and also the City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. GAIL director (projects) Ashutosh Karnatak said 15 CNG stations had been planned for Bhubaneswar and 10 for Cuttack.

While two CNG stations - the first in east India - were opened at Chandrasekharpur and Patia in Bhubaneswar on December 16, 2017, two CNG stations are ready to be commissioned in Cuttack.

"Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan will inaugurate to two CNG stations at CDA sector 1 and Bidyadharpur in Cuttack on Saturday to provide the cheaper, environment-friendly and safer fuel to CNG-run auto-rickshaws," Karnatak told reporters on Friday. "With this, four CNG-dispensing stations will become commercially operational in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Two more are coming up at Khandagiri and Tamando."

GAIL hopes the CNG stations would get good response in Cuttack. Karnatak said Bhubaneswar was the fastest-growing city in the country in terms of vehicular response to CNG. "We started off with 80 odd auto-rickshaws less than six months ago. Now we have 800 auto-rickshaws running on CNG," he said. Around 50 to 70 auto-rickshaws will run on CNG in the city from Saturday. To convert an auto-rickshaw into a CNG-consuming one, the owner has to spend between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000. They can get interest-free loan from Bank of Maharashtra, Karnatak said.

"Initially, natural gas is being supplied in special containers called 'cascades' transported by road from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Provision is being made for L-CNG (Liquefied CNG), infrastructure for which is being constructed in Bhubaneswar. In this case, gas will be transported in liquefied form in cryogenic tankers from Dahej, Gujrat, to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack," he said. The service is an initiative under City Gas Distribution project implemented by the GAIL (India) Limited, a government-owned natural gas transmission company.

IPS rejig

The state government on Friday effected a minor rejig in senior IPS cadre. A Home department notification said S. Shyni, DIG, southwestern range, Koraput, has been posted as DIG, (CID, Crime Branch) while additional commissioner of police, Cuttack- Bhubaneswar, Himanshu Lal, has been transferred as DIG, Special Task Force. Ashish Kumar Singh, DIG, Southern Range, has been given additional charge Of southwestern range, Koraput.