Entrepreneurs angered at gas staggering again in Ctg industries

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Pankaj Dastider CHITTAGONG, Oct 29: Authority's fresh decision on gas staggering has angered business houses and industrial entrepreneurs in Chittagong region. Mills and factories have been forced to suspend production due to the government move to stop supply of gas until November 22 when gas from the Semutang well is expected. Mill owners in Chittagong said they were put to double troubles unlike those in other regions in the country. They have been subjected to snapping of gas supply apart from suffering due to gas staggering since last week. According to the holiday staggering of gas all industrial plants and factories at Nasirabad industrial area remained suspended from Friday to Sunday from yesterday while those at the Fouzderhat industrial area suspended production from Saturday (today) to Monday as per directives of the distribution authority KGDC. Karnafuli Gas Distribution Company, responsible for distribution of gas available from the national grid, resorted to gas rationing in mills and factories from last night (Friday) within 24 hours of withdrawing a letter suspending gas supply to those production plants. When contacted, managing director of the KGDC engineer Sanwar Hossain told the FE this afternoon that he was left with no other alternative but gas staggering because his distribution company is currently receiving short supply of gas from the national grid. Till second week of October the KGDC was receiving 220 million cubic feet of gas from the national grid against the demand of 400 mmcft. But Chittagong has been receiving below 200 mmcft gas a day for the last two weeks, a senior official of the company said. Engineer Sanwar Hossain said, "Current gas rationing will go by November 22 when we will be receiving gas from the Semutang well. By this time we are also trying to find out ways to mitigate the problem." He informed that the government high-ups are aware of the problems of the industries of Chittagong and they are sitting in an emergency meeting of the board of directors of Petrobangla in Dhaka on October 30 where the issue will be discussed in detail. Sanwar said he himself took the initiative to improve the situation as he opened up the Ashugonj Valve recently to add 30 mmcft of gas. Secretary of the ministry of energy and top officials of Petrobangla are also trying their best to find a way out of this situation. When asked about the tentative date of completion of the pipe line with Semutang Gas field that was scheduled to be completed by mid-October he said the work of pipe line has been delayed due to excessive rain in the monsoon. "Due to rainfall for 64 days at a stress in the monsoon as per statistics available with the office of KGDC the construction of the pipeline remained suspended. It was done only to ensure quality of the pipeline construction," Engineer Sanwar argued. Following gas rationing, production was halted in all major industrial plants in re-rolling, steel and paper mills and cement factories in the region, leaving thousands of workers in uncertainty just before the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. "The government move to force industries to run for three days a week due to short of gas supply is bound to have a negative impact on the price of essential commodities as well" said President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Morshed Murad Ibrahim. Earlier on October 27 local entrepreneurs expressed grave concern at the snatching of gas supply and rationing of gas in their plants. The aggrieved industrialists sought immediate steps from the government at a meeting with the DG of the Prime Minister's Office Nazmul Islam held at the CCCI auditorium. Following the meeting the CCCI leaders sat in an urgent meeting with MD of KGDC Sanwar Hossain on the same day that resulted in restoring gas supply to re-rolling and steel mills and cement factories suspending supply of gas, the raw material, to Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd.