No let-up in port city's gas crisis

NAZIMUDDIN SHYAMOL
CHATTOGRAM, Nov 04: The residents of Chattogram are suffering acutely due to the severe gas supply shortage prevailing across the port city.
The gas supply shortage that ensued here on October 20 last is yet to end.
There will be no respite from the acute gas shortage in the port city within a short time, said sources, adding the crisis is likely to be solved by the end of December.
The gas crisis has made the lives of the people of Chattogram miserable in the last two weeks.
Gas supply has to been kept suspended from 8am to 4 pm in the maximum areas of the city during this period.
Cooking activities in the hotels and restaurants are also being hampered seriously.
Meanwhile, the price of gas cylinder has been hiked in Chattogram recently at a time when the city people are grappling with acute gas crisis.
Besides, production in industrial units, including garment factories, is also facing a setback in the city's Kalurghat, Baizid Bostami, Sitakunda and Patenga areas.
More than 1,200 industrial units, including the heavy engineering ones like steel and re-rolling mills and 400 garment factories, are suffering a lot due to the gas crisis that is causing them a loss of several thousand crore taka, sources said.
Two Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) developed for Petrobangla and Summit Group at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal are able to produce 1,000 million cft of gas daily, having the capacity of 500 million cft each.
Meanwhile, production of LNG in two floating plants has declined to 500 million cubic feet daily due to technical problems in one of two FSRUs on October 20.
Both FSRUs need proper maintenance after five years of installation. So both the units should have maintenance service in Singapore and should get a certificate and maintenance work of one unit will take at least one month.
Sources said the gas crisis may continue till next month (December) and from the end of the next month, gas supply may improve.
The sources added though the Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) directed to ensure normal gas supply in Chattogram, the people of the district cannot perform their necessary works including cooking and official jobs smoothly due to the gas supply crunch.
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