'Don't see the gas but paying the bill correctly'
ছবি: বার্তা ২৪.কম
"What's the benefit of reporting and doing something digital?" Everything is digital why should it be left out. Electricity is being sold in batches in Parliament. I don't see the gas, but I pay the bill correctly. Where is this money going? Umme Hani Nipa, who lives in Mirpur of the capital, was speaking about the regret of everyone's money.
Gas shortage has occurred in several areas of the capital like Mirpur. Among them, the most acute gas crisis is in Narinda, Sutrapur, Gandaria, Jatrabari, Manikdi of Dhaka Cantonment, Demra, Lalbagh, Shanirakhra, Gobindpur, Matuail Mohammadpur, Kamrangichar, Mahakhali, Pallabi, Kafrul, Shewrapara, Rayerbagh, Bhooter Goli, Green Road, Kalabagan, Kathalbagan, In several other areas of the capital including Moghbazar, Basabo, Arambagh, Postgola, Malibagh, Rampura, Badda and Mugda.
Zubair Hossain lives with his family in Demra of the capital, works in a private company. In a family of four, two sons and a daughter go to school in the morning, leave for office themselves, but due to lack of gas, they often have to leave without eating in the morning. However, with the arrival of winter, the crisis has intensified.
He said to Barta24.com that he has been suffering from this problem for the last four years, "First it used to come around 8-9 in the morning and it used to come between 2-3 in the afternoon. After a few days, he went in the morning and came in the evening. A few days after that. He used to come around 11-12 at night and leave around 5 in the morning. It doesn't come anymore. But Alhamdulillah, the bill is being taken properly.
A resident of Narinda, who did not wish to be named, told Barta24.com, "There is no gas in whole day. Can't cook rice and curry, can't heat it alone. In the past one week, I have bought and eaten rice and curry from the bazaar. There is no other cooking stove except gas. We need gas to survive. I do it like this and I don't care. My life is not lost like this. How much do we want this state of development of the government?
Barta24.com reporter also talked to residents of different areas of the capital. They also said much the same thing, but even though there is no severe gas crisis in all areas, the residents said that the gas pressure is low. Many complain that even if there is gas at night, the gas pressure is decreasing before dawn. So somehow they are forced to get up early in the morning to cook. And if they can't wake up for any reason, then they have to make alternative arrangements.
So much for gas given to homes. The owners of CNG and industrial plants are also not relieved. They also have to face the gas crisis; the production is disrupted, in many cases the production cost is also increasing for the owners. If the gas crisis continues like this, there is a fear of disruption of power generation.
BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem told Barta24.com that the factories are closed due to gas problems. Our factories are closed due to gas problems. If there is no solution to the gas crisis, we may have to announce a shutdown. There has been little assurance from the government, saying the crisis is unlikely to be resolved before 2026. However, it has promised to improve the gas crisis from February.
In response to the question whether the cost of production is increasing due to the gas crisis, Mohammad Hatem said, if there is production, the cost will increase, what will happen if there is no production? I can't pay my bank debt, I can't pay my workers and the crisis is getting deeper and deeper.
It is known that Bangladesh has an average demand of about 3,715 million cubic feet of gas per day. But the gas companies are not able to supply that amount of gas. Due to which energy experts are saying that there is a shortage of one and a half million cubic feet of gas every day. However, Petrobangla says there is a shortage of 1,000 million cubic feet of gas per day in the country.
The most demand for gas in Bangladesh is in the power sector. As Petrobangla, the demand of gas for power generation in the current year will be about 150 million cubic feet. However, the production capacity is 2240 million cubic feet. Against that, only 750-800 million cubic feet of gas is being supplied which is only 40 percent of the total production capacity.
According to the sources of Petrobangla, the only gas company in Bangladesh, the total amount of gas reserves in the current wells discovered in the country is 8.68 trillion cubic feet which is able to meet the demand of gas for the next ten years. On the other hand, about two thousand million cubic feet of gas is being extracted daily from 22 gas fields of the country. As a result, the government has no choice but to import.
In such a situation, energy experts say, for a permanent solution to the gas crisis, emphasis should be placed on gas exploration in the sea and on land. If BAPEX does not have that capability, foreign companies will have to be involved in gas exploration if necessary. If new gas fields are not discovered then this crisis can never be overcome.
Experts also say that the main reason for the gas crisis is the decrease in fuel production and import dependence. Due to which the production is disrupted and due to the dollar crisis, the government is not able to increase the import. As a result, they mainly see the energy crisis as the biggest challenge in front of Bangladesh.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that international tenders will be called for offshore gas exploration this year. One hundred more wells will be dug in twenty five years. I am hopeful that within two years we will add another 500 million.
Dr. Badrul Imam, professor of geology department of Dhaka University and energy expert, told Barta24.com that the main reason for the gas crisis is that gas production has not increased according to demand but has decreased. Our production has been declining for several years. Our problem is that the production did not increase as per our demand rather it has decreased.
Due to the breakdown of two privately imported ships, they are also unable to provide sufficient supplies. All this has reduced the supply of gas resulting in a gas crisis.
He said, as a result, industries are not getting gas; many people are not getting gas in their homes. But next summer will be bigger if gas supply is not increased. Because many power plants are dependent on gas. Then the load shedding will increase a lot. As a result, next summer may be very critical.
Stating that production should be increased to overcome the gas crisis, he further said that production can be increased in two ways, new wells should be dug, new gas fields should be discovered and production should be increased where there are wells.
