BAHAWALPUR: Around 500 compressors installed illegally to steal Sui gas from the underground pipelines for domestic use were removed by the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd (SNGPL) during the ongoing winter season in the city.

This was stated by SNGPL Bahawalpur Regional Manager Belal Asghar here on Saturday.

Mr Asghar told Dawn that the consumers found involved in gas theft through compressors were penalised by the SNGPL through disconnecting their gas supply.

He said although the SNGPL staffers were doing their best to ensure uninterrupted gas supply, particularly to the domestic consumers, still due to certain unavoidable circumstances it got disrupted in some parts of the city, creating inconvenience for them.

He claimed that during the winter season, a sum of over Rs4.7 million has been recovered as fines from gas thieves in the region.

Denying any loadshedding of Sui gas in the region, Mr Asghar said only “load management” was being resorted to, keeping in view the demand-supply gap this winter season.

He expressed the hope that with improvement in weather conditions in the coming days, the gas supply would improve.

He urged the affected consumers to register complaints with the SNGPL regarding use of compressors for gas theft in their localities, assuring them of prompt action against thieves.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2022