Chattogram residents also suffering from household gas crisis
Like in the capital, residents in the port city of Chattogram are also suffering from an acute crisis of gas arising from the faulty gas network system.
Reportedly, only residents in some areas of the city are getting gas, and those who are getting gas are not getting that for more than three to four hours every day from morning to 9 pm.
Not surprisingly, households are suffering from a serious problem with cooking.
Gas supply through pipelines is very comfortable for households. Once people are habituated, it is troublesome for them to suddenly arrange alternative ways of cooking.
People buy the conduction stove or have to buy gas cylinders for cooking purposes which are costlier than gas supply through pipeline.
It is doubtful how much the faulty network is responsible for the current gas crisis.
More plausible explanation for the current gas crisis is paucity of resources including money.
The port city’s gas supply is completely dependent on LNG and the supply has decreased for the last two months there.
Although the demand of the port city is 500 million cubic feet of gas per day, the allocation is not more than 270 million cubic feet per day.
Moreover, a major share of this goes to power plants and refineries on a priority basis.
It is very unlikely that relevant authorities would be able to solve the gas crisis soon, as the country’s economy is predicted to be advancing for a more serious time.
However, it is also true that the gas distribution lines in Chandgaon, Greater Baklia, Panchlaish, Andarkilla, Nasirabad, Lalkhan Bazar, Doublemooring and other areas of Chattogram are very old which need to be replaced or repaired.
It is an irony that the government was telling people its development stories for a long time, but the reality is covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war have pathetically exposed the vulnerability of the Bangladesh economy.
Disruption of utility services that the government provides to people is the direct result of this vulnerability.
