Gas shortage mars Muharram observancein Hyderabad

HYDERABAD:

Gas load shedding during the first ten days of Muharram has left Hyderabad residents struggling to prepare Nazar and Niaz, with households getting gas for only nine hours a day and at very low pressure.

Sui Southern Gas Company has failed to meet its own schedule of supplying gas for nine hours daily during Ashra-e-Muharram. Under the announced schedule, gas was to be available from 6:00 to 9:00 am, 12:00 to 3:00 pm, and 6:00 to 9:00 pm. But residents said supply often starts with air hissing from lines for several minutes before gas arrives, and pressure remains extremely low.

"Women put food on the stove to cook Niaz and the gas disappears," residents said.

It takes nearly half an hour to boil water for tea due to low pressure, and by the time pressure improves, the supply window is about to end.

Nazar and Niaz are distributed on a large scale across the city during Muharram, especially from the 6th to the 10th. Most households prepare it at home according to their means, while Majalis and procession organisers rely on catering centers.

But SSGC has not reduced outages or restored normal supply during the Ashra.

The shortage has added to hardship amid intense summer heat, forcing people to spend longer hours in kitchens.

Meanwhile, caterers and naanbais are receiving uninterrupted gas at full pressure all day. With household cooking difficult, citizens burdened by inflation are being compelled to turn to catering centers, where they allege they are being overcharged for biryani and other dishes for Niaz.