According to the All Sukkur Hotel Shermal Pakwan Association, they have started using coal or burning wood. "It lowers the quality of the dough and people don't like the taste," said the association's president Shafiq Ahmed Munna. Several neighbours have also complained about the poisonous emissions when we burn coal, he added. Munna said that if they pay their bills, it is their right to receive gas at full pressure.
The caterers association met in Sukkur on Monday and have decided to launch a protest movement against the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). Led by their patron-in-chief Haji Faisal Amin and Munna, the participants decided to form a committee to meet the gas utility's manager and tell him about their problems. If the problem persists, then the hotel owners and pakwan houses will stage demonstrations and sit-ins, the association decided.
Amin told The Express Tribune that the SSGC is charging a little more than Rs30 per unit, which is the highest slab for commercial consumers yet it has failed to maintain gas pressure. He pointed out that the low pressure slows down their work and ends up upsetting their customers. An SSGC official, requesting anonymity, said they keep pressure low due to huge thefts.
Apart from these commercial users, households in Sukkur are also facing low gas pressure especially in the morning. SSGC Sukkur regional manager Aziz Abro said the gas pressure is kept low in the morning due to load-shedding.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ