Bhubaneswar, Aug. 12 (UDN): The rollout of piped natural gas (PNG) connections in Bhubaneswar appears to have slowed in several areas, with residents complaining that pipelines have been laid but household connections are yet to be activated.
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The delay has raised concerns among consumers who had earlier expected faster connectivity following the government’s push to expand PNG coverage during the gas supply crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict.
While PNG infrastructure has expanded across parts of the capital, several households are still waiting for the final connection. In some locations, pipeline installation is continuing, while in others, household wiring has been completed but gas supply has not commenced.
Residents flag coordination issues
Sailashree Vihar Phase-VI is among the areas where residents have reported delays. Several households had applied for PNG connections with GAIL India between 2019 and 2023.
Although some residents are now using PNG for cooking, others are still waiting for their connections to be activated.
Residents said the work involves different contractors—one responsible for laying the pipeline network and another handling the internal connection and wiring at individual houses. They alleged that a lack of coordination between the agencies has contributed to delays.
“Pipes have been laid in the area, but connectivity to individual houses is still pending. We request the authorities to complete the remaining work at the earliest,” said Sailashree Vihar resident Ramesh Kumar Pandey.
Another resident, Basant Kumar Jena, said several houses were still waiting despite the pipeline network being available.
Residents have also raised concerns over reported instances of gas leakage from some PNG connections, which they said have created difficulties while cooking.
Connection drive accelerated during crisis
The pace of PNG expansion had increased between March and May amid concerns over cooking gas availability during the Middle East conflict. However, residents in some areas said the momentum appeared to have weakened by July.
According to available figures, Bhubaneswar had around 23,000 PNG connections and Cuttack about 10,000 as of April 20. Between March 1 and April 20, around 11,200 new PNG connections were reportedly added across Odisha.
GAIL India accounted for a significant share of the new connections in the twin cities, providing around 6,000 connections in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack during that period.
By July, the number had increased to approximately 26,300 connections in Bhubaneswar and more than 12,300 in Cuttack.
GAIL says work is continuing
GAIL India has maintained that the connection process is continuing in the twin cities. At present, work is underway in areas including Patia, Kalinga Vihar, Pokhariput and Nayapalli.
The company said it is currently providing around 80 new PNG connections every day in Bhubaneswar and 40 in Cuttack.
“During the war, we were given a target to accelerate the number of connections. As of July 31, Bhubaneswar had recorded 26,300 PNG connections, while Cuttack had crossed 12,300,” said GAIL India Chief Manager Soumyaranjan Mohanty.
At present, PNG services in Odisha are being provided by GAIL VPCIL, GAIL Gas, Adani and Megha Gas.
State targets wider PNG network
The Odisha government has set an ambitious target of providing more than nine lakh domestic PNG connections across the state and establishing 271 CNG stations.
PNG and CNG services have also been classified as essential services, aimed at ensuring continuity of supply and transportation during emergencies.
For residents who have already waited years for a connection, however, the immediate demand is for faster completion of the last-mile network and activation of pending household connections.
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