Gas crisis hits Ctg  

The prolonged gas crisis which began Saturday night has hampered household chores and hit production at industrial units for the third consecutive day in the premier port city.
The situation aggravated further on Tuesday as the supply went even lower than previous days. According to Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL), the supply of gas to Chittagong on Tuesday was 181 million cubic feet as compared to 182 million cubic feet on Monday and 227 million cubic feet on Sunday.
The supply of gas for the 4,68,918 domestic and 3,684 industrial users of Chittagong usually stands at 250-280 million cubic feet against the total demand of 480 million cubic feet per day.
Residents have been hit hard as household chores in three quarters of the households in the city have been hampered in the last three days due to the poor pressure in the gas line.

City dwellers complained that they went without gas in the houses from early morning to night over the last three days.
Nasrin Jahan Sultana, a reporter working for a private TV channel, said that the pressure of gas supply started decreasing since 7 am and stopped completely within an hour in the last two days.
“We found gas with a little pressure on Monday afternoon before the supply stopped again on Tuesday morning,”
she said.
“Finding no other alternative, we had to buy gas cylinder at an unusual price,” she added.
Like Nasrin, several people in a majority of areas in the city experienced the gas crisis, while many were compelled to take food from eateries.
Monsurabad area resident and housewife Nasima Akter said that it was not possible for them to cook with the little supply of gas they got in the last couple of days.
“We have to now rely on food stored in the refrigerator,” added Nasima.
Besides, the acute disruption in the supply and low pressure of gas has also compelled the CNG filling stations to shut down their facilities.
Most of the CNG-run three-wheelers, that had queued up for long hours at different CNG refuelling stations in the city on Tuesday, had to return empty handed.
“The gas crisis has reached an intolerable level. CNG-run vehicles have been queuing up for long hours. However, we cannot refuel the CNG vehicles due to the gas crisis,” said Hafizur Rahman, Supervisor of Fossil CNG Filling Station at Sholoshahar area.
Concerned over the fallout of the crisis, Chittagong business and industry organisation leaders now fear that the gas crisis might lead to a collapse of heavy and medium industries, including readymade garments and re-rolling mills.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam sent an emergency letter to Prime Minister’s Energy Affair Advisor Dr Towfiq-E-Elahi on June 8 seeking intervention to deal with the crisis.
The President said in the letter that production at industries was being hampered seriously due to the gas crisis.
“Such miserable state of gas supply may cause many industry owners to lose orders, fail to pay bank loan and salaries of workers,” added the CCCI President.
The CCCI President further urged immediate steps to ensure normal supply of gas from the national grid and taking short, mid and long-term measures for addressing the crisis permanently.
“The shortage from the national grid has caused this crisis. The non-availability and low pressure in supply line is due to production shortfall following a problem relating to condensate at Bibiyana Gas field in Sylhet,” Engr Khondaker Matiur Rahman, General Manager (Engineering Services), told The Independent.
“As far as we are concerned, the work for fixing the problem is going on. We have already formally informed about the condensate-related problem to the Petrobangla Chairman,” the GM said, adding that they had also suspended supply of gas to bulk users in order to mitigate the crisis.
“We are ruined. We are incurring huge losses due to the persistent gas crisis,” said Anamul Hoq Iqbal, Managing Director of Saleh Steel.
“All the steel re-rolling mills of Chittagong have been compelled to shut down production due to the shortfall in gas,” added Iqbal, who is also the Vice President of the Bangladesh Auto Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association.
Meanwhile, the two gas-fired power plants in Chittagong – the Raozan Thermal Power Plant and the Shikalbaha 60MW Plant – were shut down due to the gas crisis on Monday.
“The shutdown of the two plants increased load-shedding in Chittagong to 101 MW during the day time,” Md Moniruzzaman, Chittagong Senior Assistant Director (Public Relations) of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), informed.
“However, power generation will resume at the plants after getting sufficient gas,” he added.

Gas crisis hits Ctg

The prolonged gas crisis which began Saturday night has hampered household chores and hit production at industrial units for the third consecutive day in the premier port city. The situation aggravated further on Tuesday as the supply went even lower than previous days. According to Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL), the supply of gas to Chittagong on Tuesday was 181 million cubic feet as compared to 182 million cubic feet on Monday and 227 million cubic feet on Sunday. The supply of gas for the 4,68,918 domestic and 3,684 industrial users of Chittagong usually stands at 250-280 million cubic feet against the total demand of 480 million cubic feet per day. Residents have been hit hard as household chores in three quarters of the households in the city have been hampered in the last three days due to the poor pressure in the gas line. City dwellers complained that they went without gas in the houses from early morning to night over the last three days. Nasrin Jahan Sultana, a reporter working for a private TV channel, said that the pressure of gas supply started decreasing since 7 am and stopped completely within an hour in the last two days. We found gas with a little pressure on Monday afternoon before the supply stopped again on Tuesday morning, she said. Finding no other alternative, we had to buy gas cylinder at an unusual price, she added. Like Nasrin, several people in a majority of areas in the city experienced the gas crisis, while many were compelled to take food from eateries. Monsurabad area resident and housewife Nasima Akter said that it was not possible for them to cook with the little supply of gas they got in the last couple of days. We have to now rely on food stored in the refrigerator, added Nasima. Besides, the acute disruption in the supply and low pressure of gas has also compelled the CNG filling stations to shut down their facilities. Most of the CNG-run three-wheelers, that had queued up for long hours at different CNG refuelling stations in the city on Tuesday, had to return empty handed. The gas crisis has reached an intolerable level. CNG-run vehicles have been queuing up for long hours. However, we cannot refuel the CNG vehicles due to the gas crisis, said Hafizur Rahman, Supervisor of Fossil CNG Filling Station at Sholoshahar area. Concerned over the fallout of the crisis, Chittagong business and industry organisation leaders now fear that the gas crisis might lead to a collapse of heavy and medium industries, including readymade garments and re-rolling mills. Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam sent an emergency letter to Prime Ministers Energy Affair Advisor Dr Towfiq-E-Elahi on June 8 seeking intervention to deal with the crisis. The President said in the letter that production at industries was being hampered seriously due to the gas crisis. Such miserable state of gas supply may cause many industry owners to lose orders, fail to pay bank loan and salaries of workers, added the CCCI President. The CCCI President further urged immediate steps to ensure normal supply of gas from the national grid and taking short, mid and long-term measures for addressing the crisis permanently. The shortage from the national grid has caused this crisis. The non-availability and low pressure in supply line is due to production shortfall following a problem relating to condensate at Bibiyana Gas field in Sylhet, Engr Khondaker Matiur Rahman, General Manager (Engineering Services), told The Independent. As far as we are concerned, the work for fixing the problem is going on. We have already formally informed about the condensate-related problem to the Petrobangla Chairman, the GM said, adding that they had also suspended supply of gas to bulk users in order to mitigate the crisis. We are ruined. We are incurring huge losses due to the persistent gas crisis, said Anamul Hoq Iqbal, Managing Director of Saleh Steel. All the steel re-rolling mills of Chittagong have been compelled to shut down production due to the shortfall in gas, added Iqbal, who is also the Vice President of the Bangladesh Auto Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association. Meanwhile, the two gas-fired power plants in Chittagong the Raozan Thermal Power Plant and the Shikalbaha 60MW Plant were shut down due to the gas crisis on Monday. The shutdown of the two plants increased load-shedding in Chittagong to 101 MW during the day time, Md Moniruzzaman, Chittagong Senior Assistant Director (Public Relations) of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), informed. However, power generation will resume at the plants after getting sufficient gas, he added.