Kamrangirchar residents suffer as gas supply cut off

Gas consumers in the capital’s Kamrangirchar are suffering as Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company cut off supply in the area on May 10.

The company says connections have been cut off by removing gas valves to punish illegal consumers, but the legal ones are also in trouble as the move has disrupted supply in the whole area.

It says the next steps will be taken on Monday as Sunday is a public holiday.

Sources said there are more than 12,000 legal consumers in Kamrangirchar, but the number of illegal ones is more than five times as many.

There are allegations that the local administration and some corrupt Titas officials having political links provided illegal gas connections in Kamrangirchar.

As a result, Titas often conducts drives and cuts off gas supply in the area, but the main problem remains unresolved.

A Titas official in charge of Kamrangirchar said outstanding gas bills in the area had reached around Tk 6 crore.

He said consumers had been repeatedly asked to pay the bills, but they did not.

“When illegal connections are cut off, they are restored the next day. Now the people in Kamrangirchar have to promise that they will not use illegal gas.”

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division recently took strict action against illegal gas connections because the country is facing huge gas shortages due to declining production.

The government meets the crisis by importing 692mmcfd gas at high prices. 12 per cent of the total gas is consumed by illegal consumers in the country annually, depriving the government of huge revenues.

Zahirul Islam, a resident of Kamrangirchar, said there was no gas in any neighbourhood, including Jhauchar, Abu Sayee Bazar, Ahsan Nagar, and Rony Market. “We are suffering, but there is no one to address this.”

Nazibul Haque, deputy general manager of Titas in Dhanmondi zone, said the higher authorities had decided to cut off supply in Kamrangirchar and that is why the solution lay in their hands.

“If local representatives of Kamrangirchar have a meeting with Titas officials, outstanding bills are paid, and promises are made that illegal connections will not be used, the problem may be solved then.”

Titas Managing Director Harunur Rashid Mollah could not be reached for comments.