Dhaka: If you can't take gas in the afternoon, you will suffer. The car will not be available. Moreover, if you are sitting with a gas serial at that time, the crowd of cars in front of the station will increase. The traffic congestion that is taking place now will increase from tomorrow.
Idris Ali, a CNG driver, was standing at the ECB premises in the capital. He said if the station was closed for six hours, people would have to wait a long time to get a car. Again, their income will be reduced.
Sajjad Hossain, a resident of Bhashantek area, said that if the gas station is closed from 5 pm to 11 pm, then gas should be taken before or after that time. This will create a long queue of vehicles in front of the gas station. People's time will be wasted, suffering will increase.
The government has decided to close CNG stations for five hours from 5pm on Wednesday to increase gas supply to power generation. As a result, the suffering of the people will increase, the concerned people think. They say if CNG stations are closed for a long time, CNG-powered vehicles will face a crisis in fuel collection. The traffic jam will increase in front of the filling station. Traffic jam will be created on the road.
According to the Power and Energy Division, a letter was sent from the Energy Division on September 12 regarding gas rationing at the CNG station in Petrobangla. According to the letter, a decision was taken at a meeting held on July 19 to formulate short, medium and long term supply and demand of gas for gas-based power plants. CNG stations should be kept closed during peak hours of electricity.
Farhan Noor, general secretary of the CNG Station Owners Association, told the media that they have learned about the closure of the CNG station through the media. The Ministry have not informed them before. If the filling station is closed for six hours from the afternoon, the jam will increase. The suffering of the people will be more. He is also afraid of wasting time and suffering.
According to the sources of the Power Division, the peak demand time of electricity in Bangladesh is from 5 pm to 11 pm. At this time more gas is required for power generation. At this time, 140 crore cubic feet of gas is required daily to run gas-fired power plants at maximum capacity. Now Petrobangla is supplying 110 crore cubic feet, from which about six thousand megawatts of electricity is available. Due to the gas crisis, more oil-fired power plants are being run. This is increasing the cost of electricity generation. Due to the increase in the use of oil, the subsidy on electricity will go up to Tk. 16,000 crore in the current financial year. In the last financial year, the subsidy was 10 thousand crore rupees. The government has decided to increase gas supply to reduce the cost of power generation.