People

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The media carried recently reports about the government considering steps to increase production of natural gas in the country by 20 per cent. Quoting a senior official, the reports said Bangladesh would raise production to 2.15 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the existing 1.8 billion cubic feet by 2011 with new investments of nearly $100 million.

It is certainly a piece of good news for all the sectors which have been badly effected due to short supply of this clean natural energy. It is said the country has a shortage of gas up to 150 million cubic feet per day. So additional production is likely to cover up the demand-supply gap and help meet growing demand for gas in various economic sectors including power generation. It is said the additional production would come from exploring at least 15 new wells in different gas fields across the country.

Now the question for consideration by all concerned is: If the government had the capacity to meet the problem of gas supply, why did not it take up the initiative earlier? Why has the people's right to know about the total reserves of gas not been honoured? All concerned would agree that the use of clean natural gas has to be encouraged. Yet then, a crisis has been persisting in areas of gas supplies, hampering smooth functioning of different mills and factories. If the total reserves of the gas would have been properly known, people could have got a clear picture of the country's energy resource and then plans could have accordingly been undertaken. Thus, efficient use of gas as per the needs of various economic sectors would have been ensured then.

Shahjahan Kabir

Iskaton, Dhaka