Piped gas in fits and starts

KOCHI: The Covid-19 outbreak has adversely affected the ambitious city piped gas project being carried out by Indian Oil-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd (IOAGPL).The work, which picked up pace after overcoming many hurdles in January, hit another roadblock post the pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown.According to the IOAGPL spokesperson, though the company has got the nod to go ahead with the work, the lack of adequate labourers has derailed the work. “By January, we had restarted the digging work in Kalamassery and Thrikkakara municipalities, but the lockdown has come as a blow.

With a huge chunk of migrant worker population returning to their home states, we are facing an acute shortage of hands. This is aggravated by the fact that many residents, who have already registered for the facility, are reluctant to let workers inside their homes to lay pipelines and fix regulators,” said the official.