Anisul Islam Noor :
The short supply of natural gas is affecting the cooking activities, the industrial production and the electricity generation in recent days.
The residents of Gandaria, Shyampur and Jatrabari have complained that they are not getting adequate gas to cook food from 6am to 4pm everyday. As a result, they cannot prepare their meals in time.
The similar complaint reached The New Nation office over telephone from Zigatola and Sukrabad of Dhanmondi, Mirpur, Shyamoli, Kathalbagan and Malibag.
However, the government, in a major decision, has stopped providing new gas connections to commercial consumers and suspended their load transfers to ensure its effective uses by the incumbent consumers, sources said.
This is the first time that the government officially stopped new gas connections to commercial consumers adding that the new decision would help reduce wastage of the natural gas.
The government earlier stopped new gas connections to households to check wastage and ensure its efficient usages.
The commercial consumers include restaurants, residential hotels and guest houses, private hospitals, clinics, laboratories, educational institutions, community centres, community clubs, convention centres and snack and bakery-makers.
Traditional glass, chocolate, ‘chanachur’ vermicelli, biscuit, soap, ceramic medicine, colour, ‘agor-ator’ distilled water, tannery, ice and ice-cream, and salt, which use hand-operated tools, have also been brought under the new gas connection suspension.
The decision came into effect from August 14, said a notification issued by state-run Petrobangla.
“We have stopped new gas connections to the commercial
consumers until further order to ensure that the energy is used in productive sectors,” Petrobangla Chairman Istiaque Ahmad said.
He said it would help efficient use of the natural gas.
Currently, the commercial sector consumes around 27 mmcf per day of natural gas, which is around 1.0 per cent of the country’s overall gas output of around 2,700 mmcfd, he said.
The decision has been taken to cope with the country’s dwindling reserve of natural gas, he said.
New gas connections to industrial consumers, however, remain open, said Istiaque Ahmad.
A high-powered government committee scrutinises applications received from industrial consumers before sanctioning new gas connections, he added.
Currently, the country has a shortfall of around 600 mmcfd of natural gas, according to Petrobangla.
The gas shortage prompted the Petrobangla to ration new connections to industries, fertiliser factories and power plants since June 2009 affecting the country’s economic growth.
The short supply of natural gas is affecting the cooking activities, the industrial production and the electricity generation in recent days.
The residents of Gandaria, Shyampur and Jatrabari have complained that they are not getting adequate gas to cook food from 6am to 4pm everyday. As a result, they cannot prepare their meals in time.
The similar complaint reached The New Nation office over telephone from Zigatola and Sukrabad of Dhanmondi, Mirpur, Shyamoli, Kathalbagan and Malibag.
However, the government, in a major decision, has stopped providing new gas connections to commercial consumers and suspended their load transfers to ensure its effective uses by the incumbent consumers, sources said.
This is the first time that the government officially stopped new gas connections to commercial consumers adding that the new decision would help reduce wastage of the natural gas.
The government earlier stopped new gas connections to households to check wastage and ensure its efficient usages.
The commercial consumers include restaurants, residential hotels and guest houses, private hospitals, clinics, laboratories, educational institutions, community centres, community clubs, convention centres and snack and bakery-makers.
Traditional glass, chocolate, ‘chanachur’ vermicelli, biscuit, soap, ceramic medicine, colour, ‘agor-ator’ distilled water, tannery, ice and ice-cream, and salt, which use hand-operated tools, have also been brought under the new gas connection suspension.
The decision came into effect from August 14, said a notification issued by state-run Petrobangla.
“We have stopped new gas connections to the commercial
consumers until further order to ensure that the energy is used in productive sectors,” Petrobangla Chairman Istiaque Ahmad said.
He said it would help efficient use of the natural gas.
Currently, the commercial sector consumes around 27 mmcf per day of natural gas, which is around 1.0 per cent of the country’s overall gas output of around 2,700 mmcfd, he said.
The decision has been taken to cope with the country’s dwindling reserve of natural gas, he said.
New gas connections to industrial consumers, however, remain open, said Istiaque Ahmad.
A high-powered government committee scrutinises applications received from industrial consumers before sanctioning new gas connections, he added.
Currently, the country has a shortfall of around 600 mmcfd of natural gas, according to Petrobangla.
The gas shortage prompted the Petrobangla to ration new connections to industries, fertiliser factories and power plants since June 2009 affecting the country’s economic growth.
