FOR far too long, people in Karachi have been suffering from unreliable natural gas supply, or, should I say, no supply at all. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), entrusted with keeping us warm, and with fuelling our kitchens and industries, has instead plunged us into a cycle of frustrating excuses and unfulfilled promises. Families and businesses, as a result, are scrambling for expensive alternatives.

The justifications put forward by the SSGC ring hollow. The blame-game of ‘lack of gas supply’ paints a picture of helpless dependence on external factors, conveniently ignoring potential and potent mismanagement and leakage issue. Leakages, those invisible gremlins lurking in the pipelines, are trotted out with monotonous regularity, each one seemingly more convenient than the last.

And ‘theft’? It is an easy villain to conjure, shifting responsibility from the very entity responsible for securing our supply. If some consumers are involved in deploying machines to suck extra gas for pressure, why is it so beyond the SSGC to locate and punish them?

If there is, indeed, a lack of supply, as the SSGC keeps harping on that same string, making one wonder what the smell of gas in the air is about around the company’s plant near Karachi University. Is it a leakage? Whatever it is, it seems scary, considering a blast few years ago apparently owing to gas leakage in an apartment just meters away from the SSGC facility.

The truth about the situation is likely a murky brew of neglect, inefficiency and perhaps even greed. Infrastructure upgrades, inevitable to preventing leakages and improving efficiency, seem perpetually postponed.

Transparency about gas reserves and distribution remains shrouded in secrecy. In the meantime, whispers of lucrative side deals and price gouging add fuel to the flames of public anger.

The consequences happen tobe quite far-reaching. Homes continue to grapple with cold, forced to choose between warmth and other necessities. Businesses struggle to stay afloat, and production lines are grinding to a halt in the absence of the essential supply of fuel. The city’s economic pulse is weakening, and the collective wellbeing is getting compro-mised by SSGC’s persistent shortcomings.

We, the consumers, are not powerless. We deserve better. Thus, we demand accountability, not hollow excuses. We need an independent audit of SSGC’s operations, a clear and viable roadmap for infrastructure upgrades, and an end to the blame-shifting charade.

In short, our gas pipes can no longer tolerate empty promises. We need action, transparency and a renewed commitment to serving the very people who keep SSGC afloat. Until then, the chill of discontent will continue to permeate our homes, a stark reminder of a public utility failing its most basic duty; the only duty it has, in fact.

Let this be a call for action. Let us not accept the SSGC cold shoulder. Let us raise our voices, demand better, and ensure that the warmth of reliable gas supply once again flows freely in our homes and factories. Mere words won’t do.

Jamshaid Ahmad
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024