LAHORE: With a sudden dip in temperatures, natural gas brownouts returned to the several localities of Lahore on Tuesday, especially in the tail-end areas.

“Today is perhaps the toughest day since the start of the winter this year, as there was almost no gas during peak hours in our area,” Sajid, of Ghausia Colony (near Sukh Nehr), told Dawn. “In the morning, we prepared breakfast at the house of our neighbor, who have an LPG cylinder these days.”

The localities facing extremely low gas supply include Kotli Pir Abdul Rehman, Lal Pul, Shalamar, Baghbanpura, Samanabad, Rehmanpura, Iqbal Town, Gulberg, Model Town, Awan Town, Faisal Town, Garden Town, Shadman, Islampura, Data Darbar, some parts of Walled City and GOR, Ravi Road, Lakshami, Davis Road and Lower Mall.

“Low gas pressure is a routine matter in our area. So are inflated gas bills in the winter despite cut in the natural gas supply,” a resident of Township said. “It must be probed into at some higher level.”

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) officials did not share data on demand and supply of natural gas, low pressure complaints, action against consumers using compressors to extract gas, bills, remedial measures etc.

“I’ve checked the issue with our sales department and they say that though there are complaints regarding low gas pressure, there is no suspension of gas supply. Low gas pressure is because of the usage of motor pumps on supply lines to extract gas,” a spokesperson for the SNGPL said.

He said the company was trying to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to all domestic, commercial, industrial, CNG, power and other sectors. “We will soon start sharing demand and supply data with the media,” he added.

Meanwhile, reports from Sialkot district’s different towns and Pattoki suggest that people were facing severe gas shortage.

RETRIEVED: The city district administration retrieved 8,676 kanals state land worth Rs26 billion from October 2 to December 31. According to a spokesman, 1,967 kanals, 3,646 kanals, 1,674 kanals, 620 kanals and 735 kanals were retrieved in the areas of City, Raiwind, Model Town, Shalimar and Cantonment tehsils respectively.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2019