Nagpur: With the inauguration of Nagpur’s first CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) mother station by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the goal of cheap fuel and pollution free transport service is being achieved successfully. With the setting up of the CNG station, located at Automotive Square in the city, by Rawmatt Industries Private Limited, one of the leading public transport operators – Hansa Travels – has handed over its diesel buses to Rawmatt for conversion into CNG buses.
During an interaction with Nagpur Today, the Chief Executive Officer of Hansa Travels, J P Parik, said that hectic discussion with Gadkari was going on since past few years over finding alternative solution to losses suffered by nation on account of increasing prices of conventional fuel and its import from foreign countries. The best alternative was seen as ethane oil, CNG and electric vehicles. All the three substitutes were comparably cheaper and eco-friendly. Moreover, less use of petrol/diesel could save revenue of the country. In the meantime, NMC had started ethanol run public transport service for a year. During the same time, Rawlatt was given responsibility by NMC to convert diesel standard buses into CNG buses. Subsequently, city’s first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus was launched by Rawmatt on trial basis, Parik said.
Parik further said that considering Gadkari’s positive thinking on making the city pollution free, Hansa Travels has given work order to Rawmatt for converting its diesel buses into CNG buses. “Possibly, the CNG converted buses could be handed over to our company by next week. After operating these buses successfully, Hansa Travels aims to convert all its buses into CNG run buses,” he stated.
Vaddadi Subbarao, Director, Rawmatt Industries, and Kaustubh Gupta, jointly informed that the operators of diesel buses in city and district such as Datta Meghe institute, Raisoni educational institutes and Mahindra are likely to hand over their buses for conversion into CNG to Rawmatt soon. Apart from these institutes, over a dozen group of organisations have held discussion for conversion of their vehicles into CNG vehicles. “We aim to first convert NMC’s standard buses into CNG buses. After this job, vehicles of other organisations would be taken up for CNG conversion,” they said.
The CNG station at Automotive Square is the mother station, where LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) will be stored and converted to CNG and further supplied to nine more daughter stations, which will become operational soon in the city. Currently two daughter stations (one at Khapri depot and second one at Wadi depot) are getting ready and will be operational in 10-12 days.
