QUETTA: Religious scholars are of the opinion that low gas pressure causes loss of lives in Quetta and other cities and towns of Balochistan during winter and that high tariff and overbilling force the poor to indulge in gas theft.

They said this during a seminar “Interaction with Ulema: Winter Safety Awareness Measures” org­a­nised by the Sui Southern Gas Com­­­pany Limited here on Wednesday.

Former chief of Jamaat-i-Islami (Balochistan chapter) Maulana Abdul Haque Hashmi said the government and SSGC should look into the causes which forced the poor to steal gas.

He asked why action was only taken against domestic consumers, though superior courts while hearing cases had remarked that industrial units were involved in gas theft worth billions of rupees in connivance with the staff of gas distribution companies.

Prof Maulana Arshad Yameen said that on one hand common people were facing numerous problems because of the skyrocketing price hike, on the other gas companies were installing ‘fast-running meters’ and also increasing tariff.

Jamaat-i-Islami leader Abdul Qayyum Kakar said low gas pressure was a major cause of deaths in Quetta and other areas of Balochistan. “Gas heaters stop burning when there is low gas pressure but it fills gas in rooms, suffocating sleeping people,” he said.

SSGC’s senior general manager distribution in Balochistan Abdul Majid Malik assured the participants that the issue of low gas pressure in Quetta would be resolved after gas supply from the Zarghoon gas field started. He urged consumers to timely pay their bills and said the number of deaths could be reduced if people switched off their heaters before going to bed.

Other SSGC officials said people should avoid hanging clothes and towels on valves of gas heaters and attaching plastic sheets inside windows to stop cold. They urged ulema to create awareness among people about safety measures during Friday sermons.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014