<saikatray08@gmail.com>KOLKATA: The state environment department has taken up an initiative to run CNG run vehicles in Asansol-Durgapur area. Easy availability of CNG in the region has prompted the state government to introduce the environment friendly transport in the industrial and trading hubs. The change from the present system of running the public transport system will be implemented in phases. In the first phase 500 state run buses will be asked to convert into CNG. Apart from this fleet of South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) run buses, the state will ask at least 2000 auto rickshaw operators in the Durgapur-Asansol area to opt for CNG, state transport minister Sovan Chatterjee said on Tuesday. If the experiment in this region bears fruit, the same will be offered as an option for Kolkata and its adjoining areas, Chatterjee said. The state environment department will give Rs 5 crore to the state transport department for the conversion.<br /><br />Sources in the transport department however maintained that around 300 auto rickshaws have already converted to CNG. “Easy availability of Coal bed methane gas which is a variant of CNG has made the conversion possible in the area. There are two private firms which are producing the natural gas in the region. This makes the conversion easy for us,” mayor said.<br /></saikatray08@gmail.com> (This story has not been edited by timesofindia.com and is auto–generated from a syndicated feed we subscribe to.)
Indian officials have instigated an initiative to introduce vehicles fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG) to the public transport system in the Kolkata Durgapur area. The programme’s first phase will request 500 state-run buses to be converted for CNG usage alongside 2,000 auto rickshaw operators in the area, accompanying 300 auto rickshaws that have already converted to CNG. If successful, officials plan to extend the programme throughout Asansol and neighbouring regions.