Many of the small and medium-sized mills, factories and household s in Narsingdi’s Madhabdi and Palash areas and also in Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj are allegedly using illegal gas lines with the help of corrupt officials at the state-owned Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company and contractors in the districts.
Earlier last week, Sheikh Abu Raihan, deputy general manager (DGM) of Titas Gas in Narsingdi, admitted that a section of corrupt Titas Gas officials and contractors were benefitting from the illegal trade, while the government was losing a huge amount of money every month.
The comments came after local residents from Madhabdi, Palash and Araihazar submitted a written complaint to the Titas Gas DGM, alleging that a number of mills, factories and households are using illegal gas lines.
On November 4, a meeting was held at the conference room of Narsingdi Deputy Commissioner Obaidul Azam’s office to discuss the necessary actions required to tackle the illegal practice. District-level officers, union parishad chairmen, police officials, the upazila nirbahi officer and journalists were also present at the event.
At the meeting, Titas Gas DGM Raihan said 16 illegal gas supply lines, stretching a total 26,600 feet, had been identified in the area, while the illegal lines connected different households, mills and factories that had been active in the illegal practice for a long time.
Local residents accused dishonest billing supervisors, billing readers, accounts officers, linemen and contractors of being involved in the supply of illegal gas lines.
The linemen, billing readers and supervisors allegedly visited the illegal gas users at the beginning of each month to collect huge amounts of money.
Some mills and factory owners were also reportedly tampering with the gas meters, exploiting the two types of switches, red and green, used by every duplicate line user.
The use of the green switch meant the used gas units would be counted by the meter, while turning on the red switch caused the gas supply to bypass the meter and go directly to the factory.
These unscrupulous methods are causing the government to lose a massive amount of money every month, while corrupt officials make significant financial gains.
Deputy Commissioner Obaidul Azam said a mobile court magistrate would carry out drives in the areas, disconnect illegal gas lines, and take necessary actions against illegal gas line users.
Titas Gas DGM Raihan said the drive targeting illegal users will be carried out soon, while an investigation team will also be formed to identify the people who were involved in the supply of illegal gas lines.
Actions had not been taken against the perpetrators yet as most of the illegal users were ruling party-backed men, the DGM also admitted.