MIANWALI: Gas consumers in the district continue to face a great deal of hassle in redress of their complaints and having new connections as the local Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) office lacks the requisite powers.

The local office depends upon the Sargodha regional office to have the issues solved.

There are more than 25,000 gas consumers in the district -- Mianwali, Daudkhel, Kalabagh, Kundian, Chashma, Alluwali and Piplan. They say the powers have been vested with the regional office of the SNGPL in Sargodha (140km from here) where they have to travel to have their problems solved.

The approval of a demand notice for gas connection, they say, takes months and the local office expresses its inability to expedite the process. There are cases in which teams from Sargodha have severed gas connections of the defaulters without taking the local officials into confidence.

Complaints are rife SNGPL office in PM’s hometown lacks powers

The consumers approach the local SNGPL office for restoration of gas supply and show payment of bills but the officials, it is alleged, tell them that they will communicate with the regional office that is authorised to send meters.

Federal Minister Omar Ayub recently visited the city and people apprised him of their long-standing demand of having a regional sub-office in the prime minister’s hometown. The minister announced at a public meeting that he would fulfill their demand but there is no follow-up.

SGNPL’s Executive Engineer Distribution Mohammad Asad Khan told Dawn that the Mianwali office was working as a complaint service centre (CSC) and all powers had been vested with the regional office. He said each branch would be established here if the office was upgraded as regional sub-office and the problems of consumers would be promptly solved.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2019