Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Haldia, West Bengal and dedicated to the nation the LPG import terminal, 348 km Dobhi – Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section, which is part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.
He also laid the foundation stone of the second Catalytic-Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery and dedicated to the nation the 4 Lane ROB-cum-Flyover at Ranichak, Haldia on NH 41. The event was attended by the Governor of West Bengal and Union Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan among others.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that today is a big day for West Bengal and entire Eastern India in terms of Aatma Nirbharta of connectivity and availability of clean fuel. The four projects will improve both ease of living and ease of doing business in the region. These projects will also help Haldia to grow into a major hub of export-import.
The Prime Minister stressed that gas-based economy is the need of the hour for India. One nation-one gas grid is an important step for meeting this need. For this, focus is on reducing cost of natural gas and expanding gas-pipeline network.
Our efforts have led to a situation where India is among the highest gas consuming nations. Hydrogen Mission was announced in the budget to promote cheap and clean energy.
The Prime Minister listed works in rail, road, airport, ports, waterways to improve the quality of life and business in Eastern India. He pointed out that scarcity of gas was leading to closure of industry in the region.
In order to remedy this, a decision was taken to connect eastern India with the eastern and western ports. Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Pipeline, a big part of which was dedicated today, is part of that project.