KARACHI: The Sui Southern Gas Company kept people of Karachi wondering if there would be any supply during Eidul Fitr holidays and afterwards as the utility failed to ensure an uninterrupted supply during the holy month of Ramazan, even at Sehri and Iftar timings, in most areas.

The deepening gas crisis during the fasting month piled miseries on domestic consumers, who continued to face the same situation on Thursday despite SSGC’s promise to ensure no interruption in supply during the Sehri and Iftar timings.

On Dec 11, the SSGC had officially announced that domestic consumers would get gas only for eight hours in a day — morning, afternoon and evening — during “meal timings”.

Later, the gas crisis aggravated in Ramzan with SSGC announcing that gas would be supplied only during Sehri and Iftar timings, but most of the city remained without gas during these hours as well.

Say SSGC failed to ensure supply even during Sehri and Iftar timings in most areas

People are now scaptical about supply of gas three times during and after Eid holidays.

A resident of Clifton said that he did not think that there would be any proper gas supply for three times daily after Eid. “The SSGC couldn’t supply gas twice a day during Ramzan, then how would they give us gas thrice a day after Eid?” he argued.

However, sources in the gas utility said that domestic consumers would be given gas three times daily after Eid.

Residents from several localities in all seven districts of the city complained that they had not been supplied any gas during Sehri and Iftar timings as was announced by the gas utility.

A resident of Model Colony, Ijaz Ahmed, said that there was no gas supply in his neighbourhood during the whole month of Ramzan and the residents were compelled to use costly LPG cylinders for cooking. “Earlier, we used to get gas for some time by using suction pumps, but now there is no gas even if we keep the pumps on for hours,” he added.

Complaints of very low gas pressure during Sehri and Iftar timings were also received from several areas, where people were left with no option but to use wood or costly LGP gas for cooking.

Subhan Khan, who works at a motorcycle mechanic workshop in Balida Town, said that unavailability of gas had made his life too difficult as he could not afford to bring home food from eateries daily. “The gas pressure is so low that you can’t even think of preparing tea on that tiny flame,” he lamented.

Sources in the gas utility said that the dilapidated distribution and transmission system was one of the major causes of the low pressure and gas losses.

A resident of the Defense Housing Authority, Asif Rasheed, said that the situation in his neighbourhood was no different from other parts of the city. “We can no more rely on SSGC for gas, now we have LPG cylinders in our kitchen,” he said.

When contacted, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh said the provincial government had time and again took up with the federal government the issue of gas shortage but to no vail so far.

He said that people were suffering due to gas shortage in the province, where gas production was between 2,700 and 3,000mmcfd. “The SSGC is supplying less than 900mmcfd to the province against the requirement of over 1,400mmcfd.

The minister said that Sindh contributed over 70 percent of the country’s total gas production, while it’s requirement was not over 40 percent of the total production.

Imtiaz Shaikh said that he had already informed the federal energy minister about the acute gas shortage in the province, adding that the gas crisis had also badly affected the industrial sector in the province.

Meanwhile, lawmakers belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan have expressed their concern over the gas crisis in the city.

In a statement, they said that the gas shortage had not only badly hit domestic users, but also affected industries in the city.

They called upon the federal government to take steps for an end the energy crisis in the city.

The MQM-P members of the provincial assembly said that earlier there had been gas loadshedding only in winters, but now it had become a routine in summer as well.

They emphasised the need for a comprehensive strategy to utilise waste/garbage for energy generation.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023