Tackling gas crisis

Prolonged gas interruptions have disrupted our daily lives. It is a common experience that Dhaka city residents face with the onset of every winter. This year is no exception. We are the residents of south Dhaka. It is almost over a month that the gas pressure we have been receiving at our home is extremely low and has dropped to such an extent that no cooking can be done. Despite paying gas bills on time, we experience low pressure of gas. The gas pressure starts to subside at 7:00am and after 8:00pm the pressure gets back to some extent in our areas. The disruption of the key necessity is not only hampering regular activities, like cooking meals, but also enhancing living cost of the residents, as we have to make various alternative arrangements to cope with the problem. Sometimes, we cannot even light up our gas-fired ovens throughout the day. At the same time, restaurants are also found dropping items from their menu because of the fall in gas pressure.
Many city dwellers have already started using gas cylinder because of the supply crunch. While many of the sufferers, who can afford, buy gas cylinders, kerosene stoves and electric rice-cookers. The rest have either to wait for hours for the gas supply to reach a workable level or to use earthen stoves. All this causes too much of a hassle in the city life as well as increase the monthly expense of families. The prices of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders are not cheap as well. Consumers now have to buy a 22 kg LPG cylinder at a cost of more than Tk 3,000. As the gas supply crisis worsens every year in winter, the authorities concerned should take measures to address the problem. They should conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of this crisis and implement corrective measures as early as possible.
Badsha Faysal,
Jurain, Dhaka,
[email protected]