Already stressed out by the frequent, unscheduled power outages, the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have now complained the low gas pressure has made their lives miserable.

As if that were not enough, the reports of impending surge in the gas price has turned out to be a serious blow for the people, especially those on low incomes.

Under these circumstances, the poor people living in slums have no option but to use firewood but the residents of the ‘posh’ localities have no arrangement for the burning of coal or firewood. They have to rely on liquefied petroleum gas though the prices of both LPG and firewood too have gone very high.

The gas shortage has crippled life in the province and thus, leaving both domestic and commercial consumers with the only option to agitate – local industrialist Zahid Shinwari

The ultimate sufferer of the crisis is the poor because hike in gas price has also offended the industrialists and they are about to shut doors of their workplaces as result the underprivileged workers would have to lose their jobs.

The situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is getting worse as the people both rich and poor after having had enough of terrorism are being subjected by the centre to new taxes and acute gas shortage.

The industrialists have no option but to close the shop and thus, causing massive unemployment. In most regions of the province, including the provincial capital, electric supply remains suspended for at least 18 hours daily and even the gas used for running power generators, cooking food and keeping indoors warm has been taken away by the government.

According to an official of the SNGPL, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is producing 400MMCF gas, while its own requirement is hardly 200MMCF or 250MMCF and the additional gas is supplied to parts of Punjab both for commercial and domestic purposes.

He told Dawn that complaints about low pressure in the province were on the rise but SNGPL officials in Peshawar were helpless as all decisions on it were made either in Islamabad or in Lahore.

Gas is supplied from Karak and Kohat districts in southern parts of KP but local residents complain about denial of gas connections.

The official said gas theft was the main reason for shortage but the efforts to check it had so far been a failure.

He said the relevant departments lacked coordination and that the oil and gas ministry had yet to step in and ensure smooth gas supply to consumers in the province.

“The provincial government has a very limited role to play on gas theft. The main action should be taken by the federal government i.e. engaging the law-enforcement agencies for arresting the culpable people,” he said.

Similarly, another official in the industries department said 207 small industrial units had stopped working in the province due to the non-supply of gas, while the big units were likely to follow suit sooner or later.

According to industrialist and former president of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Zahid Shinwari, the gas shortage has crippled life in the province and thus, leaving both domestic and commercial consumers with the only option to agitate.

He said it was the Peshawar High Court, which, under Article 247 of the Constitution, had given a relief to local consumers from official gas loadshedding observing gas was generated in the province and under the Constitution, locals had the right to smooth gas supply.

However, the people of Islamabad and Lahore had to experience loadshedding for long hours in light of the decision.

“The federal government could not tolerate it and began gas loadshedding in our province in the shape of reduced pressure and increase in tariff from the next year.

“In many areas, the gas supply either remains suspended from 10 hours to 14 hours daily or has very low pressure distressing the people,” he said.

Shinwari said the factories and industries, which were currently functional, totaled around 400 in the province and most of them were plastic, textile, ceramic or furnace units but owners were seriously thinking about closing at least one shift to avoid losses.

According to him, big industrial units are operating at around 30 per cent of their capacity but the low gas pressure is hampering them too.

The situation if not corrected will lead to the closure of industries.

The industrialist said thousands of workers would lose jobs if the crisis worsened because a small unit had around 250 workers and that the wrong policies of the federal government had a negative bearing on the province’s economic condition.

“The scheduled loadshedding of gas will be a better move,” he said, urging the provincial government, opposition parties and civil society organisations to raise voice against the ‘injustice’ at all available forums.

Mr Shinwari said businessmen already facing financial crisis due to militancy had expected that the federal government would take some drastic steps for the improvement of local economy but instead, it had further upset the community.

“We are thinking about some legal options besides trying to meet federal natural resources minister Khaqan Abbasi on the problem. The last option will be the agitation,” he said.

Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Ziaul Haq Sarhadi also expressed concern about the low pressure of gas and increase in its tariff and urged the government to take pity on poor people and take corrective measures.

He said industries were already in crisis and such decisions would lead to close them once for all. “There’s a need that the government take effective steps for the protection of business community against extortionists and kidnappers so that the people could focus on investment and thus, boosting local economy,” he said.

Besides, the gas outages have hit the CNG sector as well.

Former central president of the All Pakistan CNG Association Ghiyas Paracha said there were 547 CNG stations in KP and many of them remained closed for at least eight hours daily due to low pressure.

“One can easily see long queues of vehicles outside filling stations whenever the supply of gas resumes,” he said.

He said the upper parts of KP, especially Malakand and Hazara divisions, were the worst affected by the crisis, while the situation of CNG stations in Peshawar, especially those located on Kohat Road, Bara Road and Charsadda Road, was no different.

About gas theft, Paracha said only the ‘weakness’ of the SNGPL was to blame for the problem and that the people should not be punished for it to meet the company’s losses.

He complained the gas generated in Karak and Kohat was being given to Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan, Mianwali and other parts of Punjab to run factories.

Besides other corrective steps, Paracha pushed the government for an effective ban on the use of illegal compressors to overcome gas shortage.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2015