RAWALPINDI: The rain and cold wave coupled with a severe low gas pressure forced the residents of the city to use alternatives for heating and cooking purposes.

For the last one month, the residents have been facing a low gas pressure but the problem increased when the temperature dropped to minus degree Celsius.

The Met Office said an active westerly wave was affecting the upper parts of the country and was likely to persist till Wednesday. It predicted rain/thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills at scattered places in Islamabad, upper Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Balochistan, Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

The rain and cold breeze forced the residents to purchase liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, coals and even logs.

Mohammad Naseem, a resident of Shah Khalid Colony, said the shortage of gas spoiled the weekend of the office goers. “Instead of getting some rest on Sunday, I spent the day filling the LPG cylinder.” He said the situation would deteriorate in coming days as the Met Office predicted more rains till Wednesday.

“Petrol is going to become dearer and so does gas in coming days. When the government increased prices of petrol the tariff of electricity and natural gas would also go up,” said Salman Raja, a resident of Murree Road.

He said it would be difficult for the residents to manage their household budget as an additional Rs3,000 was spent on filling the LPG cylinder thrice a month.

“I cannot understand why Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is announcing to provide gas connections to more areas when the SNGPL is unable to provide gas to its old consumers,” said Mohammad Abdullah, of Nayyar Colony.

Abid Raja, a resident of Ratta Amral, said bakers had increased the price of roti. “Earlier, roti was available at Rs8 but now they are selling roti for Rs10 and naan for Rs15, claiming due to the shortage of gas they have to use LPG cylinders,” he said.

When contacted, an SNGPL official said there was a huge gap between the demand and supply. He said the demand increased in the winter as the consumers started using heaters and geysers.

He said all CNG stations had been closed in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to meet the demand of the domestic consumers. He claimed that the situation would improve in coming days.

Published in Dawn January 16th, 2017