The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is confident of restoring supply to its clientele in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin from August onwards. Following the explosion of its gas pipeline at Nagaram village in East Godavari district last June, GAIL closed its pipeline network for about six weeks and started restoring supply in a phased manner.

“We have restored 80 per cent of the gas supply, and we expect to make it 100 per cent by August,” GAIL Andhra Pradesh’s General Manager (Operations and Maintenance), Mr. M.V. Iyer told The Hindu.After the explosion, which claimed 22 lives at Nagaram village, GAIL went in for a revamp of its pipeline network in the KG basin, besides adopting the village and providing relief to victims’s families. Of the 870-km pipeline network, the company identified that there was an immediate need to replace 100 km of the pipeline, which affected the gas supply to clients.

“Of our 42 clients in Krishna, East and West Godavari districts, we were able to supply gas to 29 companies including power plants, paper mills, sugar and fertilizer factories. We are yet to resume supply to Lanco and increase the quantity to the NFCL and a few other companies. There is a need to resume supply to the remaining 13 clients as well,” Mr. Iyer said.

The pipeline restoration works commenced in October last year, and about 45 per cent of the work has been completed so far.

“The pipeline replacement project cost us Rs.935 crore. Procuring machinery and men was a major challenge. As most of the pipeline is passing through paddy fields where the soil is slushy, it is not that easy to undertake the job,” he said. “Everything has fallen in line now and the works are moving on a fast pace,” Mr. Iyer observed. After the Nagaram incident, the GAIL has also increased the manpower that is on the job of inspecting the pipeline network and increased the frequency of inspection from once in three months to once a month.

“The skill development centre in Nagaram has trained 90 unemployed youth so far and some of them are settled in jobs. This year, we are planning to increase the number seats to 200. Similarly, other development works are in progress in the village,” he said.