Gas crisis worsened in Punjab after the shortfall surged to 400MMCFD, forcing the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) to divert to the domestic sector a supply of about 275MMCFD, out of over 400MMCFD liquefied natural gas (LNG) meant for the industrial, power and CNG sectors. Although the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not as dire as in Punjab, consumers have started complaining about low gas pressure there as well. Majority of residents of Rawalpindi are braving severe cold weather without gas as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd has completely failed to control the low to zero gas pressure crisis. Rain and cloudy weather is worsening gas crisis day-by-day for domestic consumers despite the fact that all compressed natural gas station, which are running on LNG, have also been closed down. The situation is forcing the consumers to question ‘where has natural gas disappeared?’ Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director Dr Muhammad Hanif has predicted cloudy and severe cold weather for next 48 hours. He said that temperature will continuously drop in coming days. The firewood prices have increased by Rs120 in a week as 40-kilogram firewood is selling at Rs720 against Rs600, while LPG prices have increased by Rs40 on 1-kilogram as it is selling at Rs130 against Rs90. Similarly, coal prices have also shot up from Rs55 to Rs65-70 per kilogram. The students and office-goers have no option but to leave homes without breakfast every morning due to zero gas pressure, but concerned authorities seeing the whole drama with closed eyes. The SNGPL claiÂmed to have launched a campaign against those using compressors to extract gas in parts of Punjab and KP, causing low gas pressure. At present, the company supplies around 1,400 to 1,500MMCFD to the domestic sector,which needs supplies ranging between 1,800 and 1,900MMCFD to meet the demand of about five million consumers in Punjab and KP. After curtailment of gas supply, power generation of over 600MW by the plants (400 by Rousch and 235 by Liberty) has been stopped, leading to an increase in the electricity shortfall and enhancing loadshedding hours in parts of the country. The government is about to complete its fourth year but there seems no end to the sufferings of citizens in the near future as the government has failed to fulfill the promises regarding to overcome gas crisis it made during its election campaign in 2013. At the this front it seems that government has totally failed to provide relief to people as no tangible solution has been presented to resolve gas crisis. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the demands of an increasing population are met with appropriate measures. An obvious reason for its failure is that the government has an incompetent team that cannot foresee a troubling situation and take necessary measures to ward off such crises. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources should take measures on a war footing to provide maximum relief to citizens who are a victim of the it’s sluggish attitude and poor policies.
