CHATTOGRAM: Despite adequate supply of LNG, domestic gas crisis in Chattogram is set to continue until the end of next May due to narrow and old gas pipelines in most city areas.
Sources in the gas distribution authority said the authority started replacing the narrow gas pipelines with the comparatively broader ones in many parts of the city that face supply disruption.
Project director of the pipeline project Md ANM Saleh said the construction work of new pipelines in troubled areas is going on and it is expected to be completed by the end of May.
Domestic burners will then get uninterrupted gas supply, he said, adding that many parts in the city are now facing low flow of gas due to narrow pipelines in those areas.
Domestic burners run dry from early morning to afternoon in most parts of the city. City dwellers were facing gas crisis throughout the whole year - 2018, but the gas distribution authority in Chattogram remained almost silent over the issue.
They had long been stating that shortage of gas supply from the national grid was responsible for its acute crisis. About 180-220 million cubic feet of gas was being supplied to Chattogram regions against the demand for around 400 mmcfd of gas a day.
Gas supply, however, increased from February this year and went up to over 350 mmcfd of gas. Supply from floating LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility at Moheshkhali has increased to over 450 mmcfd out of the 500 mmcfd capacity FSRU (floating, storage and re-gasification unit).
Mr Saleh said 10-inch diametre pipelines are being set up, replacing smaller pipelines. Work is nearing completion in some areas while tenders have been invited for the rest troubled areas.
Areas that have been undertaken for gas pipeline replacement include Kalurghat, Chaktai Shah Amanat Karnaphuli Bridge area, Halishahar, Bandar, Patenga, Kotwali, Patharghata, Jamal Khan, Asadganj, Ashkar Dighi and Bakolia.
These areas are facing gas shortage from morning till noon due to narrow gas pipelines. Gas crisis will go after balancing in the pipelines and it will take two more months, he said.
Around 0.6 million gas consumers in the greater Chattogram region under Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL) have become worst sufferers of gas crunch since the year 2000.
They all have been deprived of gas supply as per demand, be it under Bakhrabad Gas Systems Ltd (BGSL) until 2010 or under the newly-formed distribution company (KGDCL) over the last nine years.
BGSL used to supply Bakhrabad gas to greater Chattogram until commercial operation of the newly- formed KGDCL which started gas supply in July 2010.
Petrobangla, the state-owned corporation, argued that it had no plan to supply more gas to Chattogram as it didn't have any extra gas.
Industrialists, investors, trade body leaders and domestic consumers called for taking steps to augment the gas supply.
The businesses at that time also urged the government to import fertiliser for agriculture and suspend gas supply to KAFCO and CUFL which use gas as raw material to keep production flow in the industries uninterrupted until normalisation of gas supply in the country.
Even many garment factories, mostly in the knitwear sector, were forced to shut down production units due to gas crisis.
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