The persistent gas crisis has turned acute in most areas of Dhaka, seriously affecting public life and forcing many to opt for alternative fuels and rely on food from restaurants, spending extra money.
A long queue of vehicles was also seen in the filling stations due to the low pressure of gas, making people wait for hours to refill.聽
Residents in the capital鈥檚 Moghbazar, Mirpur, Gendaria, Basundhara, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Central Road, and Rajabazar had been facing gas crises for years.
The problem has aggravated in the past few months.
Many affluent people聽 have opted for alternative fuels like cylinders and induction stoves for cooking, and some have opted to buy food from restaurants amid the crisis.
Low- and lower-middle-income people are the worst sufferers, unlike affluent people who have opted for alternative fuels like cylinders and induction stoves for cooking and can also afford to buy food from restaurants.聽
Amid the soaring prices of essential commodities, people belonging to the group said that they had no choice but to wait for hours for the piped gas to聽cook food.
Robin Chakma, a resident of West Rajabazar, claimed that the piped gas crisis had intensified over the past two months.聽
鈥榃e have been getting low gas pressure from 10:00am to 5:00pm every day for the past two months. During this time, it has become difficult to boil water,鈥� Robin, a private company employee, told 抖阴精品.
He said that he did not have enough money to manage alternative fuels or buy food from restaurants by paying extra.
A resident of the capital鈥檚 Mirpur said that they were suffering from an acute gas crisis from 7:00am to 3:00pm.
Acknowledging the crisis, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited鈥簊 managing director, Md Haronur Rashid Mullah, said that not only households but also filling stations and industries were suffering from the gas crisis.
鈥榃e have a demand of 2,000mmcfd [million cubic feet per day], but we are now receiving 1400鈥�1500 mmcfd. We cannot manage over 500mmcfd gas shortages,鈥� said Haronur Rashid.
The country鈥檚 total daily gas consumption stood at 2,609.3 mmcfd, including 603.7 mmcfd of liquefied natural gas, on June 6, against the capacity of 3,760 mmcfd, according to Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Corporation, also known as Petrobangla.
Petrobangla officials said that the country鈥檚 daily gas demand now stands at over 4,000mmcfd.
State minister for power, energy, and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid said on Thursday that it would take until mid-July for uninterrupted gas supply.
鈥榃e鈥檙e now trying our best, and the situation is under control. Gas supply will go uninterrupted by July 15鈥�16,鈥� he said, addressing a 鈥楶ost-Budget鈥� press conference at his ministry.
Mubarak Hossain, a businessman, was found waiting in a queue at a filling station in the capital鈥檚 Moghbazar area.
鈥業 have been waiting for two hours to refill the gas in my car. The problem is we are not getting adequate gas despite waiting for hours,鈥� Mubarak told 抖阴精品.
Many vehicles were found in queues at many filling stations, including Kingshuk CNG Station at Mirpur-2, and the queues were moving slowly.
Muhammad Faiaz Ahmed, director of Kingshuk Company Limited, told 抖阴精品 that they had been suffering from a gas supply shortage for the past month.
鈥楶eople are not getting adequate gas in their vehicles due to low pressure,鈥� he added.
Residents in the capital鈥檚 Azimpur area claimed that they were not getting gas supplies from 11:00am to 3:00pm, hampering cooking lunch.
Fahim Ahmed, a resident in the capital鈥檚 Moghbazar area, said that they were not getting piped gas from 8:00am to 12:30pm for the past year.
鈥榃e have bought an induction stove to meet the crisis,鈥� he added.
Nilufa Begum, a resident of the capital鈥檚 Central Road, said that the pressure of gas remained low for one hour in the afternoon.