AGARTALA, Nov 23 (TIWN): Observing the slow pace work of PNG service executed by the TNGCL to households in many parts of Agartala, the people have lost their faith over the assurance given to them by the state government to provide PNG service to moist of the houses.

It is to be mentioned here TNGCL is supposed to PNG service to at least 2500 houses but the slow pace of work shows that the half number of the houses will not get the connection. However, the sources said that this year only 840 houses were able to be connected with the PNG connection.  Though there is huge demand of PNG supply among the peoples but TNGCL is failing to provide services.

It is alleged that the piped natural gas work is running slowly. In most houses, there is no network and households are still waiting endlessly to be enrolled by a gas agency, while in rural areas, food is cooked on polluting coal, wood or dung fires.

It is to be mentioned here that for the next 25 years, TNGCL has taken the project of Rs 144 crore to provide PNG services to the household. However, implementation of 32core of project for supplying PNG service is underway and in the second phase the project of 28 crore will be taken in hand. However in the first phase of work TNGCL is suppose to connect 2500 houses with PNG service in first two year but the slow pace of work shows that there is no possibility to complete the work in the given deadline.  However, the locals are agitated over the slow pace of work.   

PNG facilitates non-stop supply, no need to fret about an underweight, pilfered cylinder, no need to pull strings for prompt delivery. And unlike the heavily subsidized, competing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, till now at least, is both cheap and profitable.

Already 20,000 households are connected with PNG. Apart from this TNGCL has also provided 300 commercial connections to the business centers.  Along with the household and commercial connection TNGCL has also provided 47 PNG connections in several factories in Bodhjungnagar industrial sector area.

According to the TNGCL source, a large number of industrial units, hotels and crematoria were already running on PNG.

TNGCL was registered under the company Act, 1956 with ROC, Shillong as Limited Company. Incorporation of the company with a joint venture of TIDC Ltd. [A Govt. of Tripura undertaking] & AGCL [A Govt. of Assam undertaking] on July 1990.

Re-structuring of TNGCL on February 2005, with joining of GAIL is a major share holder in order to facilitate the implementation of CNG in the transport sector of Tripura.