Low gas pressure adds to people’s woes

Gas company ignores orders for uninterrupted supply during Ramazan

RAWALPINDI:

The unannounced load-shedding and low pressure of the gas at the beginning of the holy month of Ramazan has added to the problems of the citizens of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, who are already suffering from unprecedented inflation.

On the first day of fasting, citizens faced severe difficulties in cooking food due to low gas pressure. On contacting the gas utility company’s helpline, the citizens were told that gas will be supplied from 2:30 am to 6:00 am and from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. But the gas pressure remained very low even during the Sehri timing.

The government had issued orders to ensure the uninterrupted supply of gas to domestic consumers during Ramazan, but complaints of low gas pressure were reported in several areas of the twin cities on the first day of the holy month.

These areas include private housing societies around Block-C, Block-D, Satellite Town, Sadiqabad, Imam Bara, Chaklala Scheme-1 and 3, Range Road and GT Road.

Qaiser Nadeem, a citizen, told The Express Tribune that when he called the gas company’s helpline to complain about the absence of gas supply and low pressure in the area, he was told that the gas supply timings were from 2:30 am to 6:00 am and 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

He said the government had announced that the uninterrupted supply of gas would continue during Ramazan. “Now the situation is that due to the absence of gas supply, several households with children and patients etc are facing severe difficulties in cooking food,” he lamented and added that even the gas pressure was very low at the time of sehri.

Another citizen Waqas, a resident of Block-C, Satellite Town, also expressed serious concerns over low gas pressure and demanded the government ensure proper gas supply so that people do not face any problems during the holy month.

On the other hand, the general manager of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited was contacted to get his comment but he did not attend the call.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2023.