Hubballi: Navanagar will be the first residential area in Dharwad district to have piped natural gas supply to households. As many as 300 households will shun the practice of buying conventional LPG cylinders by the end of January.A joint venture between Indian Oil Corporation and Adani Group (IOAG) has taken up the project in the district. If everything goes according to plan, IOAG will provide piped natural gas connections to around 5,000 households in the twin cities by the end of this year.According to IOAG officials, they have received more than 2,000 applications in Navanagar for PNG connections. The group has simultaneously started work of installing pipes in Gandhi Nagar, Dharwad and Badami Nagar in Hubballi. According to them, the process of giving connections is a continuous process adding that it will be completed in the twin cities by the end of this year.IOAG said that few houses in Navanagar have started using piped gas as a part of a trial run and the remaining households would get the connection after the formal inauguration.Arun Nayak of IOAG told TOI that the group has so far installed 40 km of pipeline across the twin cities. Around 300 households have got piped gas connections, adding that switching to PNG is optional for residents.“For availing the facility, residents have to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs 5,000 along with a registration fee. The bill will be calculated according to the consumption,” he said.The twin cities get natural gas from the Dhabol-Bengaluru gas pipeline. Apart from residential areas, IOAG is also installing pipes in industrial estates of the twin cities, he said. Nayak said piped natural gas is lighter than air and hence it evaporates easily, reducing the risk of a fire accident. PNG is also cheaper than LPG and one can pay according to their consumption, he added.MP Pralhad Joshi had recently stated that PNG connection would be inaugurated at the earliest and he was planning to invite union ministers for the inauguration.First user is happyBhimangoudar Huchhangoudar, a retired employee who was the first person to get the PNG connection in the area in the trial run, told TOI that they were happy with the facility, “We have realised that it is very safe and we need not bother about booking an LPG cylinder any more. We have paid Rs 600 along with the application for the connection. The gas company is claiming that the bill will be very less compared to LPG but we are yet to get the first bill,” he said.

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