At capital’s filling stations, long queues make an unseemly appearance

Low supply, long queues anger customers.

ISLAMABAD:

The torturous, hours-long waits for CNG made an unwelcome surprise appearance in the federal capital on Tuesday.

Islamabad’s CNG users are used to long lines outside CNG stations on Wednesdays, a day before the three-day break, but found themselves in a similar situation a day early.

Some pumps in Islamabad stopped selling gas altogether due to low pressure. Meanwhile, motorists lined up at the few stations with normal gas pressure throughout the day.

One of them, a visibly irritated Bashir Ahmed, waited for his car’s turn at a petrol pump in G-9 on Tuesday evening.

“This is a complete waste of time,” said Ahmed, an Islamabad-based property dealer. “It is causing delays for people getting to offices in the mornings and completing their chores during the day.”

“The biggest problem is time wastage,” Ehteshamul Haq, a media manager who was also waiting in line at the pump, said in agreement.

Haq, who said he usually gets up at 4:30am on Thursdays to get CNG and avoid the waiting line, had been in line for 20 minutes. He said he had to get home to guests but knew he would be delayed, pointing at the dozens of cars ahead of him.

At least two stations stopped the sale of CNG due to low pressure.

Adnan Mustafa, a cab driver, stood in line for CNG at a petrol pump near Aabpara. He said his taxi was almost out of gas, but he somehow managed to reach the Aabpara pump after learning that the pumps in F-6 were not selling gas. “It’s been extremely difficult to get gas anywhere in Islamabad today,” Mustafa said. “Some pumps are closed and all the open pumps have long queues.”

Low pressure means that people have to go back to the pump more often. Instead of 100 kilometres in normal days, Ahmed said he had to go back after having done just 75. The amount of CNG that will be filled in a car depends on the pressure — low pressure means that less amount of gas will be filled.

Haq said a full tank of gas usually lasts for at least three to four days, but due to the low pressure, he’s had to fill it three times in the past week.

Khurram Shahzad, an attendant at the G-9 CNG station, said the low pressure in winters is due to increased domestic use of natural gas.

All Pakistan CNG Association Chairman Ghayas Piracha said the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) provides natural gas to four sectors within cities: households, CNG pumps, tandoors and hotels. All these sectors compete for gas usage in the winters, Paracha said, adding that SNGPL has a gas load management agreement to ensure adequate supply of natural gas to the cities.

However with lower temperatures, demand for gas has risen. “This reduces the quota of natural gas available for cities and causes low CNG pressure at pumps,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2012.