Gas crisis deepens in city, Ctg

Anisul Islam Noor :Most of the clients of Titas Gas Distribution Company have been suffering from acute gas crisis in Dhaka due to short supply. A similar situation also prevails in the port city where both the household and the industrial consumers have been affected from the on-going gas staggering. Steel re-rolling mill owners in Chittagong fear huge losses as they have been forced to cut their production by half, sources said.The crisis looms over at least 50 big and small steel re-rolling mills in two industrial zones at Sitakunda and Nasirabad, venues of the country’s 70 percent total steel production, sources said. LoomThere are 20 re-rolling mills in Nasirabad industrial area, including Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd, Ratanpur Steel Re-rolling Mills, Bayezid Steel Mills Ltd, Islam Steel Mills and Benz Steel Mills.Besides, thirty steel makers, including GPH Ispat, Kabir Steel Re-rolling Mills, Abul Khair Steel Mills and Sima Steel Mills are located in the areas from Kumira in Sitakunda to City Gate.For the Dhaka city, Titas is getting 1500mmcf gas daily from the National grid against the demand for 1950mmcf. The pressure of gas becomes low for household at day time while industrial belt receive more gas during the peak hours.The residents of Mirpur, Rampura, Malibag, Shantinagar, Banosree, Muhammadpur, Shyamoly, Manik Nagar and old Dhaka areas said that they were preparing their day meals at midnight due to low pressure of gas at daytime.Managing Director (current charge) of Titas Engineer Md Nowshad Islam said, “the gas pressure is gradually getting back to normal. We hope it will be normal soon.”Rejecting the story of acute gas crisis, the Titas MD said, due to poor capacity of old pipe lines, people of some areas suffer for certain period of time.Though generation from Bibiyana gas field was started the supply will take more days to be normal, Titas Director (Operation) Mir Mashiur Rahman said.About 40 percent of total gas production in the country is extracted from Bibiyana gas field.