DTC to launch inter-state CNG bus services from Delhi in Feb
New Delhi: Delhi will be connected to Chandigarh, Jaipur, Agra and Haridwar through CNG powered vehicles by February next year.
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan announced that "Cleanliness is the incumbent government's ambition. Green corridors will soon be unveiled by the month of February 2019."
For the first time, CNG buses will travel in long routes, using Type-IV cylinders, between Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Agra, Delhi- Haridwar, and Delhi-Jaipur. These corridors were first mentioned by Pradhan in 2015 and were initially supposed to be operational by 2017.
"It is with the initiation by IGL and GAIL, where the type-IV cylinder will be used. This type of cylinder is made of fibre and it is light-weighted. It is already under trial. Not clean fuel will be used in these buses but will help to keep the environment clean," the minister added.
Meanwhile, IGL officials also mentioned that the company is also expanding CNG stations in highways. Reportedly, E S Ranganathan, Managing Director, Indraprastha Gas Limited told media that the company is in the process of procuring eight long-range CNG buses that will ply these routes as the first stage of the green corridor. These buses have been designed by Ashok Leyland and are in the final stages of getting regulatory approvals. Once these approvals are received, the buses will undergo test runs for 45 days and then be declared fit for commercial operations.
The minister also launched various Digital Customer initiatives of IGL on Friday at the Constitution Club here, including CNG Queue Management System (QMS) and Social CRM. Apart from that, also marked the crossing of one million domestic PNG customers in its operation area- Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Rewari. The company felicitated the one-millionth customer and others, and also certain auto drivers selected through lucky draw process. The winners IGL smartcard scheme for CNG customers were also felicitated on the occasion.
While addressing the programme Pradhan lauded the effort of IGL and mentioned, "Since the government was formed in 2014, we received new applications for IGL connection. But I found the system was inapt then. People even waited for more than four years for the PNG connection. Things have changed by the year now and I am glad to announce that in the last four and half years the gas company has reached an additional 5.5 lakh houses, then 4 lakh houses since 1998."
Even the government urged people to connect with PNG and CNG more, which help in savings of fuel price and other expenses.
