The long-awaited commissioning of the Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5 at 11 am through a virtual conference. The 450 km pipeline, built by GAIL (India) Ltd, stretches from Kochi, through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kasargod districts in Kerala to Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, will also be present for the inauguration.
GAIL had started the project in 2007 and the pipeline was scheduled to be commissioned in the year 2014. However, the project was delayed due to several political issues, technical shortcomings and even natural calamities that hindered the project. The project had also faced opposition from the people living in Kozhikode district of Kerala. In 2017, residents of Mukkom in Kozhikode staged an ‘Anti-GAIL Campaign’ to protest against potential land acquisitions, demolishment of houses and displacement of people especially in Karassery and Kodiyathur panchayats due to the project. The protests were later resolved by the government by convening an all-party meeting.
The project which was then scheduled to be commissioned by the end of August 2020, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown. The difficulty of getting an online pass for daily commute between Kasaragod and Manguluru had also added to the delays in the project. However, on November 14, 2021, the project was completed as stated by P Murugesan, the executive director and head of the Southern region, GAIL to PTI.
The culmination of the ambitious Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline project is a new milestone in the Indian petroleum sector, the government said in a statement. The emergence of multiple gas-based industries and creation of direct and indirect jobs are a few expected positive outcomes from the project and the “Consumption of cleaner fuel will help in improving air quality by curbing air pollution,” the statement by the government added.