Gas crisis hits Dhaka dwellers

Print Edition

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Dhaka

Saturday, 04 February 2012

Author / Source : Abu Jakir

DHAKA, FEB 3: With the winter still lingering, the capital has been facing an acute gas crisis for the past month. Thousands of city-dwellers have been affected by the shortage, particularly housewives who have had to rely on kerosene stoves to prepare meals for their families. “My wife has to prepare breakfast and lunch between 5 am and 9 am every day as the area is left with no gas supply between 9 am and 3:30 pm,” said Abdul Jalil, a resident of Razabazar.
The areas hit by the crisis include parts of Mirpur Janata Housing, Uttara, Sobhanbagh, Indira Road, Razabazar, Ibrahimpur, Kalyanpur, Bibir Bagicha of Uttar Jatrabari, Kachukhet Puranbazar, Hatirpool, Sutrapur, Banasree, Moghbazar, Farashganj, Ultiganj, Senpara Parbata, Mirpur Pallabi and Gendaria.
Some have found alternative cooking mechanisms in order to avoid harmful gases. Tahmina Khatun of Razabazar now uses a digital cooker, while others, like Fatema Akhter of Pearabagh in Moghbazar, have switched to microwaves, despite the significant cost of these technologies. Akhter now starts cooking every evening at 8 in order to have food ready for the following day. “Gas supply in our area has been woefully low between 6 am and 6 pm every day for the past month,” Akhter said.
In Uttar Jatrabari, gas is unavailable from 8 am to 3 pm daily, which means women like Nilufar Yasmin now have to be awake by 5 am in order to prepare breakfast and lunch for their families.
Abdul Aziz Khan, managing director of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Co. Ltd., has suggested that poor urban planning and subsequent unfettered growth in both industrial and residential structures are at least partially to blame for the crisis. Gas shortages are always more severe in winter as gas is compressed by lower temperatures and pressure drops in gas lines.
According to Titas sources, Dhaka’s population of more than 10 million people need about 1,700 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd), while the supply is about 1,400 mmcfd. The huge supply-demand gap leads to shortages not only in private homes, but also at gas-fired power stations, resulting in power shortages. To ease the crisis, Titas Gas plans to install new lines in the areas that have been hit hardest.