Bengal promotes green transport in Asansol-Durgapur area

<saikatray08@gmail.com>KOLKATA: The state environment department has taken up an initiative to run CNG run vehicles in Asansol-Durgapur area. Easy availability of CNG in the region has prompted the state government to introduce the environment friendly transport in the industrial and trading hubs. The change from the present system of running the public transport system will be implemented in phases.In the first phase 500 state run buses will be asked to convert into CNG. Apart from this fleet of South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) run buses, the state will ask at least 2000 auto rickshaw operators in the Durgapur-Asansol area to opt for CNG, state transport minister Sovan Chatterjee said on Tuesday. If the experiment in this region bears fruit, the same will be offered as an option for Kolkata and its adjoining areas, Chatterjee said. The state environment department will give Rs 5 crore to the state transport department for the conversion.<br /><br />Sources in the transport department however maintained that around 300 auto rickshaws have already converted to CNG. “Easy availability of Coal bed methane gas which is a variant of CNG has made the conversion possible in the area. There are two private firms which are producing the natural gas in the region. This makes the conversion easy for us,” mayor said.<br /></saikatray08@gmail.com>