GAIL (India)’s 1,000 km-long natural gas pipeline from Dabhol in Maharashtra to Bangaluru in Karnataka has been dedicated to the nation during the inaugural ceremony of the 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit (AGPS). The Dabhol – Bangaluru pipeline dedicated by the Prime Minister has connected South India to the national gas grid for the first time. It has been constructed at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore with a design capacity of 16 MMSCMD of natural gas which can produce 3,000 MW of clean energy.
The pipeline passes through Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag, Bellary, Devanagere, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Ramanagaram, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru Urban districts. It traverses through 18 National Highways, 382 other road crossings, 20 railway crossings, 83 cased crossings, 11 major river crossings and 276 water body crossings including Asia’s largest river crossing in rocky terrain at Ghatprabha.
The construction operation which continued round-the-clock for 19 months involved pipeline laying in some of the world’s steepest slopes of 60 to 70 degrees and sharp elevations of upto700 metres in a 3.5 km stretch.
