Hubballi-Dharwad gets gas-in

There is sweet news for sugarcane growers in Karnataka. Those producing ethanol will get a bonanza from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas in the form of support price for the ethanol. The department of petroleum and natural gas will purchase ethanol at the support price.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said inaugurating the 'Gas-In' facility to supply gas to Hubballi-Dharwad through a spur line here on Sunday, said the Ministry was ready to purchase any quantity of ethanol produced by the growers at ~48.5 a litre.

The minister said 'Gas-In' facility would ensure supply of clean energy to Hubballi-Dharwad. In the beginning, the gas would be supplied to industries. Efforts would be made to extend this facility to the maximum number of households and vehicle owners in the next two-three years. The Union government has set a goal of providing clean energy to the poor and rural families on a priority basis, he informed.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's request to the rich to give up LPG subsidy was invoking a good response and nearly 20,000 had given it up in Karnataka.

Earlier, Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi urged Dharmendra Pradhan to ensure that a minimum of 5,000 families in Hubballi-Dharwad were provided with direct LPG connections under the 'Gas-In' scheme. Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar too made a similar demand.

GAIL India Ltd. chairman and managing director B C Tripathi said the city gas project would be launched in Bengaluru soon and it would be extended to Hubballi-Dharwad later. GAIL was ready to open any number of extension branches as and when the demand arises, Tripathi added.