Staff Correspondent :
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited has become desperate to recover the outstanding bills worth around Tk 143 crore from 244 member factories of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The gas company has issued warning letter to the apex body of disconnection gas lines having fail to pay the outstanding bills immediately, the BGMEA sources said.
The BGMEA leaders said that the payment of the due bills were delayed as the owners of the garment factories have been suffering from financial losses since the beginning of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Otherwise, the factory owners are very much sincere about paying the utility bills on time, they said.
BGMEA’s Vice-President MD Shahidullah Azim told The New Nation, “The factory owners are paying bills regularly. But it was delayed due to the pandemic situation.” “So, the gas company should give three months time to pay the dues as the sector is the worst victim of the ongoing pandemic,” Azim said.
He further said that Titas should only take actions against the apparel makers whose dues exceed three months.
According to the warning letter issued by the gas company, it claimed around Tk 143 crore dues against the 244 member factories of the BGMEA.
If the dues are not paid on time, it will force to disconnect the gas lines from the factories, the letter warns.
Replying to the letter, the apex body of the RMG sector has requested the gas company to give some more time to pay the dues considering the present adverse situation caused by the pandemic.
“Our members have been paying regular gas bills. This time the gas bill goes into dues to handle the unwanted situation. In such a situation, we are requesting to give some time to the factory owners,” the BGMEA’s letter said.
It also requested the Titas Gas to show empathy as 129 apparel-makers with the association membership are yet to clear Tk78 crore outstanding gas bills.
The gas supplier on June 16 sent separate lists of the gas bill defaulting apparel and textile manufacturers.
Subsequently, the BGMEA replied to Titas on June 27 after verifying the due claims. The Association said it has asked the member factories to pay the dues as soon as possible.
According to BGMEA estimation, the number of gas bill defaulting factories is 129 with the outstanding dues of Tk78 crore, though Titas claimed 244 garment-makers owe around Tk143 crore to it.
The BGMEA said 73 of the 129 factories have utility dues ranging from one to three months.
