Jan 2, 2023: On January 1, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma flagged off 100 new compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered buses for city residents, as well as the city’s first CNG fuel station near Guwahati’s inter-state bus terminal.
The CNG-powered buses were gifted to Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) by Guwahati Smart City Limited as part of its Smart City Mission. They are outfitted with air conditioning, fire detection, global positioning systems, and other amenities. Purba Bharti Gas Limited set up the fuel station.
Sri Himanta Biswa Sarma stated at a public meeting on the occasion that the introduction of CNG buses and the opening of the CNG fuel station was a decisive step toward gradual but firm mitigation of the effects of climate change and global warming. Attributing excessive use of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel as a prime reason behind the trend of global warming, Sarma stated that the carbon emissions from the use of such sources of energy were creating climatic imbalances in many parts of the globe.
Purba Bharti would operate at least 5 CNG stations in the city by next March, and in a couple of years, the total number of such fuel stations would increase to 50, he said, adding that gradually, other public transportation vehicles would be brought under the ambit of CNG.
He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative in implementing the gas-grid project, which would provide regular gas supply to CNG stations in Assam. Sarma urged the State’s transport department to use the 100 new CNG buses as an opportunity to transform itself into a profit-making organisation in the presence of State ministers Ashok Singhal, Bimal Bora, Parimal Shuklabaidya, and other dignitaries.
