Gaya: The expansion of piped natural gas (PNG) connections in Gaya appears to have slowed sharply over the past three months, leaving residents and commercial establishments waiting for them despite earlier assurances of a faster rollout.There are around one lakh dwelling units in the Gaya Municipal Corporation area, according to available information.During the LPG supply crisis a few months ago, it was announced that 10,092 households in the Gaya Municipal Corporation area would get PNG connections by the year end. At the time, it was claimed that around 2,000 households in areas including Lakhibagh and Magadh Colony had already received connections.Commercial establishments, including hotels and restaurants, were also to be given PNG connections on priority, according to the earlier plan. Under the existing rules, consumers taking PNG connections are required to surrender their LPG cylinders and have their LPG consumer connections delisted. However, activist Syed Shad Alam said most PNG consumers in Gaya continue to retain their LPG connections.District supply officer Ashok Kumar Chaudhary acknowledged that the pace of PNG expansion was slow and said he was not satisfied with the progress. “The agency entrusted with laying the PNG supply line will have to accelerate the pace of work,” he said.Gajendra Singh Chauhan, councillor of Ward No. 32, said only some symbolic pipe-laying work had been carried out in a limited area of AP Colony, while no substantial work had been undertaken in areas such as Chanakyapuri and White House Compound. He urged officials to take action against the agency for the alleged delay.Earlier, agency officials had claimed that hotels in Bodh Gaya would soon be provided with PNG connections. However, Arvind Kumar, a prominent hotelier in Gaya, said dozens of hoteliers and restaurant operators had applied for connections but none had received one so far.Pramod Bhadani, president of the Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce, said his application for a PNG connection was still pending. Suresh Singh, convener of the Bodh Gaya Nagar Vikas Manch, said the situation was similar in Bodh Gaya.The TOI made repeated attempts over the past four days to contact officials of the agency responsible for the PNG rollout. The agency said only Aman Rao, a senior engineer, was authorised to comment. However, Rao was unavailable.
