Thousands of people in Lakshmipur have been suffering for the last two months because of a serious shortage of gas at Sundalpur field at Shahjadpur, but the authorities are yet to tackle the situation.
Apart from hampering household activities, the ongoing gas crisis is also encumbering trading at different business establishments, especially in hotels and restaurants, as well as filling stations.
Sources at Bakhrabad Gas Company Ltd, Lakshmipur office, said there are a total of 4,874 household gas lines in different residential areas in the district. Moreover, the numbers of commercial gas lines are 65. Two CNG filling stations and two captive power plants also running with gas, but unfortunately most of them have almost stopped running since the gas scarcity.
Deputy Assistant Engineer Md Borhan Uddin of Bakhrabad Gas Company Ltd, Lakshmipur office acknowledged the gas crisis. He said: “The problem will be solved immediately.”
Around 2.25 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) gas is needed to meet the demand of the consumers of the district and the amount of gas are supplied from Sundalpur gas field at Shahjadpur in Noakhali.
Consumers of the district is now getting only one-fourth of their demanded gas as gas supply from the field is being hampered because of saline water and sand.
A visit to different areas of the district, including Lamchori, Modin Ullah Housing, Mobarak Colony, Shilpy Colony and Banchan Nagar, the correspondent found that many people cannot cook for lack of gas.
Housewives have to wait till midnight to cook food, but then they also get very minimum gas as industrialists run their factories at that time.
Many of consumers, finding no alternatives, have already bought stoves to cook food.
People, who do not have ability, have made earthen ovens to cook food by using firewood.
“We are compelled to adopt a changed lifestyle for the ongoing gas crisis,” said a housewife, who lives in Lamchori area.
A consumer, expressing irritation, said: “We have not stopped paying bill in the last two months, why they do not provide gas most of the time of a day?”
He said there were no gas supply in the district from 7am to 11am every day which is pick time for consumers.
Besides, the correspondent has also found that over 200 CNG-run auto rickshaws and microbuses were waiting in queue gas in front of Green Life Filling Station located in Police Line area beside the Dhaka-Raipur Highway for refueling their vehicles.
A truck driver said they started standing in queue every day from 7am and got gas around 1pm.
Manager of the filling station Md Abdus Salam said every day around 3,000 vehicles came to the filling station to refuel their vehicles.
“For the last two months, they have been suffering much as gas production has drastically reduced at the local gas field.