TAXILA: The claims by the concerned authorities for improvement in gas supply have proven to be false, as there is no respite for the public from low to zero gas pressure at peak hours in Fatehjang and Jand town of Attock.

According to consumers in these areas, the sui-gas pressure has been extremely low during the morning and evening hours, making it difficult to prepare meals.

There has also been a substantial increase in the price of firewood due to the low supply of natural gas. The consumers in these areas said that they are facing problems at the domestic level as the winter season is at its peak.

The unannounced gas load shedding is severely affecting the daily routine activities of consumers in these areas. The residents said that all their protests had fallen flat and they were still not being provided gas for domestic use. “We have been facing the problem of low gas pressure for the last two weeks. We have lodged complaints with the relevant department several times but to no avail,” said former Councillor Muhammad Shafeeq.

Iqra Bibi, a housewife, said, “Cylinder and compressors are unsafe options for me, as I witnessed a cylinder blast in my area, which scared me, and I never adopted these options to cook food”.Karam Dad, while sharing his ordeal revealed, “My mother is a patient of arthritis, which gets more intense during the winter.”

He demanded that the concerned authorities take notice of the situation and take effective measures for a smooth supply of gas to their homes. Malik Rafqat Awan, a social and public figure in Fatehjang, has urged the caretaker government and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to address the issue and ensure uninterrupted supply of gas, especially for domestic consumers.

“We have been facing the problem for the last several weeks due to gas load shedding. The pressure is too low, and it takes hours to make tea.

In some areas, there is no gas, and a complete outage of gas is being witnessed. But at the end of the month, we receive the bills in thousands,” said Afsar Khan, a social activist in Fatehjang.

He urged the authorities concerned to pay attention to the issue and take solid steps so that domestic consumers could be provided relief.

Mohammad Usman Gul, a local social worker in Jand, said that the routine lives of residents have become extremely difficult due to the shortage of gas.

He said that there are a number of gas fields in the area through which gas is supplied in various parts of the country, but the locals are not benefiting from this natural resource being extracted from their native lands.

He was of the view that under Article 158 of Pakistan’s constitution, gas-producing areas have the first right to consume their own production.

Syed Tabeer Shah Naqvi, a representative of civil society, said that the caretaker government once again increased gas prices up to 193 percent, only to recover an additional Rs 350 billion from poor consumers.

He added that the caretaker government has increased gas tariffs by up to 172 percent for domestic consumers and 137 percent for commercial consumers. “The caretaker government did not feel any kind of shame in giving approval of this increase,” Mr Naqvi added.

While contacted, the SNGPL area manager said that the authority had done its best to supply gas in a smooth way despite the cold weather in the district of Attock and its surrounding areas.

“We had received complaints from both domestic and commercial consumers,” he admitted.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2023