Previously, limited gas supply during the winter season was mainly a problem for the northern regions
KARACHI: With the slightest of signs of weather change, heralding the arrival of the winter season, gas demand and supply shortfall affects both the commercial and non-commercial consumers. Previously, limited gas supply during the winter season was mainly a problem for the northern regions or the highland areas where the weather is at its extreme. However, now many urban areas of Punjab and Sindh, where the weather is moderately cold, face a shortage of gas supply reaching to its lowest. In most of the busiest and posh localities of Karachi, gas to residential units is supplied during the day time only, whereas for the rest of the day, the consumers or the residents mostly rely on gas cylinders and electric equipment for heating purposes. This does not only halt the industrial and commercial business activities, accounting for losses running into millions, but the use of firewood and burning of other fossils for the purpose massively adds up to the environmental damage. As the government lauds the discovery of new gas reserves in the country, its inability to shorten the demand supply gap remains shrouded with suspicion and makes a case for bad governance.
With the exploration of new natural gas reserves, the government and the authorities concerned must improve its distribution mechanism and efficiently detect any leakages and theft. More importantly, it should also resolve the long-standing dispute over production and distribution of the resource among provinces.
Hammad Waseem
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2017.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
