Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan assures completion of Kochi-Bengaluru gas line soon

Having received much appreciation from the Centre for completing the Kochi-Mangaluru GAIL pipeline after overcoming protests, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the first leg of the Kochi-Bengaluru line would be also completed soon.

Speaking at the online inaugural function of the Kochi-Mangaluru line, Vijayan said that work of the 99-kilometre Koottanad-Walayar-Coimbatore line, which extends to Bengaluru, was progressing and assured people that it would be completed soon.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that completion of Kochi - Mangaluru pipeline had shown that if the states and the Centre stood united, anything could be achieved, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the project was an example of cooperative federalism as the project could not have happened without the active support of the Kerala and Karnataka governments.

Around 414 kilometres, out of the 450-kilometre-long Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline, passes through Kerala with many parts being thickly populated areas. The pipe-laying works came to a standstill by 2014 owing to strong resistance from the public.

Vijayan said that the completion of the pipeline-laying work was one of the key assurances of the Left Front during the 2016 Assembly election campaign and that promise to the people was now fulfilled. The government could convince the people about the importance of the project for the state's development. He also appreciated the GAIL officials for laying the line through difficult terrains like hills and water bodies. The last stretch of the line in Kerala was across the Chandragiri river in Kasargod.

Kerala aims at enhancing cities' gas line projects and developing Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore Limited as well as the upcoming Petrochemical Park with the GAIL gas lines. The state will also get a tax revenue of Rs. 800 crore to Rs. 1,000 crore once the lines are fully operational.