Severe gas crisis has hit many parts of the metropolis. A meagre flow of gas is available only at night time in those areas. Reports say the main cause is that a large section of the national grid was clogged with dirt.
Some parts of the national grid have, of late, been cleared. But it does not mean that the crisis has been resolved completely. Still, residents of vast areas of the city are barred from getting the much needed gas supply. The energy minister, however, advised all home gas users to switch over to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
There is no denying that the management flaws have, indeed, led to such a gas crisis. It is yet to be ascertained why the situation was allowed to develop so far that dirt actually clogged up about 100 kilometres (km) of the national grid. This certainly didn't happen overnight. The citizens should not suffer due to alleged negligence of the relevant quarters.
There is no disagreement with the minister's suggestion to switch over to LPG. He said that the government's main focus was to supply gas to the industrial sector. The government has the right to adopt new strategies on how gas resources could be utilised. But domestic gas problem must be resolved first. How can the authorities ignore the people's prime needs!
However, the government is now saying that it is against new household connections as a significant wastage of gas was detected in this sector. In contrast to this, a recent Titas survey report did indicate that the amount of gas wasted in the industrial sector every day is equal to the amount of gas provided to the residential houses in the entire country.
During the summer, with the daily demand reaching the peak of 33,00 million cubic feet (cft), the gas distribution companies will find it challenging to keep the consumers content with the available supply of 2,800 million cft, a shortfall of 500 million cft.
Despite sincere efforts, according to analysts, it is not possible to overcome the huge shortfall of gas in a short period of time. Only supplies from new onshore gas wells, still under plans, could improve the supplies to the consumers. Import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), also under study, could help the government in reducing the supply shortage.
Entrepreneurs face problems in running their factories due to shortage of gas and electricity. They are operating their boilers buying gas from CNG pumps which increases the cost of production. Business leaders are demanding that the government should ensure uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity to private sector for hastening the country's industrialisation.
The government did take some steps to import gas and electricity from Myanmar and India and LNG from Qatar to resolve the crisis. India is extracting gas in Myanmar and the government is discussing with India to allow it to take gas through Bangladesh in exchange for providing a portion of it to the country. The government is also trying to get gas from Myanmar.
If the government wants to stop supply of domestic gas or wants to provide LPG as an alternative, then it should go for a comprehensive planning. This demands a timeframe and the people must be informed of this. It is not enough just to call for using LPG. The authorities must ensure that LPG is easily available. And the people must be made a party to help devise the policies and strategy for its efficient utilisation.
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