The residents of the city will soon be able to escape the hassles of booking and waiting for LPG cylinders. In a pilot project by the Indian Oil Corporation in the city, cooking gas will soon be supplied through pipelines.

The IOC has, at present, set up the project at the Indian Oil Colony in Sector 44 in collaboration with the Sunshine Gas Agency. A bank of cylinders has been created in the colony and pipelines have been laid connecting the bank with each household.

Ravleen Uppal of the Sunshine Gas Agency said the bank is catering to around 23 houses in the colony. “It is for the first time in the city that gas is being supplied through pipelines. A meter has been provided in each house and monthly bills will be taken from the residents. In case the number of households is more, an underground tank can be set up,” she said.

The cost to install the equipment cost each house around Rs 15,000. This will go down as the number of houses increase. The set up is equipped with an auto cut system as well as a number of gauges. In case of leakage, the gauges indicate the reduced pressure and the auto cut system snaps the supply. The residents also have the provision of cutting off their individual supply in case a leak is detected.

Jagdeep Rana, senior area manager, IOC, said: “This is a pilot project. We are holding talks with builders in Zirakpur, Panchkula and Mohali to extend this facility to other colonies and areas. A large number of high-rise residential buildings are coming up and this would be an additional facility for the residents.”

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