Ensure normal gas supply to industries

NEWS report in The New Nation of Sunday that severe gas crisis is gripping industrial production at Tongi, Ashulia and Gazipur significantly slowing down production in garment and textile units and such other plants appears highly agonizing. Gas shortage and low pressure in supply lines have put the industrial units virtually into ‘life support’ creating uncertainty over achieving output targets and projected growth.
The concern of the BGMEA leaders as quoted in the report that such crisis is slowing down output and workers productivity and forcing many units to shut pick time production. They are lying off workers and their fear that they stand to make huge losses in manufacturing and exports need to be quickly addressed. The individual losses of the industries are the collective losses of the economy at the end; which will essentially bring down growth.
Gas shortage is hitting industries at almost all places but its severity in textile and export-oriented apparel factories is at the peak in the outskirt of the capital making factories the worst victim. Industry leaders fear its impact may far outweigh past crisis to bring a serious blow to many to fulfil export orders of Western buyers for Christmas in the immediate term.
The gas pressure in pipeline in the outskirt of the capital supplying gas to industries at Tongi, Ashulia and Gazipur is at quite low now between 5 and 6 PSI as against normal pressure between 20 and 30 PSI (pound per square inch) which was available only three to four days back. Such plunge in gas supply is really suicidal for industries, which are already using their own generators to produce electricity to run factories. But their extra cost is so huge that makes running industries loss making.
We wonder why the government is not working on a plan how to meet such unforeseen situation and keep industries functioning at sustainable level. Our government is bringing pressure every time to increase gas price but there is hardly any breakthrough in making discovery of new gas fields to add to reserves; which are fast depleting. We must say gas exploration on land and sea must be accelerated and our leadership must abandon tall talk and show success to prove that they are capable to meet the basic energy demands of the economy and business. It is true that shortage of gas supply is also hindering the setting up of new industries and initiative to import LPG is a good step at this moment. But in our view the government must also take steps to ensure that short-term supply shortage will not create big crisis to industries that may hit production and export. Pilferage must stop and proper maintenance of gas lines is a must to avoid such crisis.