Protests break out against gas outages, pressure in Lahore

LAHORE: With a drop in mercury level, natural gas pressure has also fallen in various areas of the provincial capital, causing a chilling situation for locals.

Residents of Gunj Buksh Road, Icchra and adjoining areas took to the streets on Tuesday against the low gas pressure and outages. They also chanted slogans against the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP) and government.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a woman named Rukhsana Bibi said there was no gas in the stoves of her neighbourhood for the last couple of weeks. "Earlier, we have been complaining about low gas pressure, but with the change in weather, there is now no gas in the area.” Unannounced gas outages have created a great inconvenience and hardships for residents as they have been forced to switch to alternative fuels like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene oil or firewood," she added.

Another woman, Bushra Munir, complained that the price of a LPG gas cylinder was also jacked up due to its high demand in the winter season. "It is very difficult for us to make ends meet in the present circumstances as additional fuel expenditure is hitting the poor hard."

A citizen, Muhammad Nauman, pointed out that residents of his area had been complaining to the gas utility company about low pressure and outages for the last many years, but in vain. "The SNGP officials always make false promises that they will solve the issue but they never do," he said. Nauman appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to direct the gas utility company to ensure smooth supply of natural gas to domestic consumers in the city.

Amna Khan, a resident of the Township area, also made similar complaints. "I serve cold breakfast or send my children hungry to the school as there is a very low natural gas pressure in my area too," she said. Amna pointed out that most citizens in her neighbourhood had to bring bread from tandoors owing to the negligence of the gas utility company.

An official of the gas utility company said that the number of complaints regarding low gas pressure has witnessed a dramatic increase during the recent weeks, mainly due to an imbalance between demand and supply. He said the main reason of low or no gas pressure was the result of an excessive use of the commodity in winter seasons and illegal methods of sucking gas from pipelines by using compressors.

He underscored the company was trying to fix low gas pressure issues in various areas, but only wise use could ensure regular supply at the tail ends.

The country produces around 4,170 mmcfd of natural gas compared to the demand for 5,495 mmcfd.