Varanasi: Piped natural gas (PNG) supply finally reached the kitchens of the Annakshetras (food courts) run by the Shri Annapurna Annakshetra Trust on Sunday. This development follows GAIL's earlier connection of the Kashi Vishwanath temple's Annakshetra kitchen on April 17.
Inauguration Ceremony
Former Uttar Pradesh minister and City South MLA Neelkanth Tiwari, GAIL's executive director H K Garg, and Annapurna temple's Mahant Shankar Puri jointly inaugurated the service. They switched on the stoves to mark the beginning of PNG service at Unit 1 and Unit 2 kitchens of the Annakshetra.
Benefits for Pilgrims and Locals
Tiwari termed the launch of PNG service at the Annapurna temple's food court as a major achievement that will benefit thousands of pilgrims, sadhus, and others who receive prasad here daily. With the commencement of PNG service, there will be no disruption in the distribution of prasad, neither now nor in the future. He congratulated all GAIL officials for making the initiative a success.
Environmental and Economic Impact
Garg said this was a significant step towards ensuring the availability of clean and affordable energy under GAIL's Varanasi City Gas Distribution project. Previously, approximately 600 LPG cylinders (300 for each unit) were used every month in the Annakshetra kitchen. Following the launch of PNG service, the cylinders will be sent to other locations as required. He reiterated that GAIL continues to work towards delivering clean energy to various areas across the city and district.
Overcoming Challenges
Mahant Shankar Puri congratulated the GAIL India team for successfully meeting the challenge of bringing piped gas even through the narrow lanes of Kashi. GAIL swiftly commenced PNG supply, and the entire unit deserves commendation for this achievement, he added.
Background and Context
Since the launch of the ambitious PNG project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2018, extending the network to the oldest parts of Varanasi had not been a priority in the original plan. Despite the LPG crisis triggered by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, no major hue and cry for LPG cylinders was evident in Varanasi after rationing began in late February.
However, the city came into the limelight when the Annapurna Temple decided to stop using LPG cylinders once its stock emptied on March 14. Acting promptly, District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar asked civil supply officials to ensure the supply of LPG cylinders to the temple's kitchen and also to ensure that LPG availability was not disrupted at mutts, temples, ashrams, gurukuls, residential universities, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, old age homes, and other places.
The state government, administration, and GAIL were bound to rethink their plans regarding old Kashi. GAIL embraced the challenging task of laying pipelines in old Kashi, an area known for its maze of narrow, serpentine, and congested lanes. On April 17, PNG made its way into old Kashi when the stoves of the Annakshetra of the Kashi Vishwanath temple were lit with PNG. On the same day, GAIL's general manager (Varanasi) Sushil Kumar mentioned that the PNG supply line would soon expand to the Annapurna Temple's Annakshetra and the Manikarnika route.
