A severe gas shortage has disrupted daily life across Dhaka and several other parts of Bangladesh for more than a week, leaving households struggling to cook and CNG-powered vehicles waiting for hours at filling stations.
The crisis has been triggered by a technical fault and fire incident at an LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, which has reduced regasified LNG supply by around 450 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).As a result, gas-dependent households, transport operators and businesses are facing mounting difficulties, while thousands of people are being forced to spend extra money on alternative fuels.
Households struggle to cook: Visits to Mohammadpur, Shyamoli, Rayerbazar, Jatrabari and Old Dhaka showed that gas supply remained unavailable or extremely weak for much of the day.In some areas, gas returns briefly late at night or early in the morning, but the pressure is often too low for normal cooking. Mohammadpur resident Nasima Begum told The Daily Industry that tasks that previously took around 30 minutes now require two to three hours because of the low pressure.’Preparing food on time for children going to school and working family members has become extremely difficult,’ she said.
Many families are now buying meals from outside or relying on electric stoves and LPG cylinders, increasing their household expenses. Aklima Akter, a resident of Rayerbazar, told The Daily Industry that even cooking rice has become a lengthy process. ‘Usually rice takes around 20 minutes to cook, but the gas pressure was so low that I had to keep it on the stove for nearly two hours. By then, the rice had completely turned into mush,’ she said. She added that buying an LPG cylinder at the end of the month was financially difficult.
CNG drivers face long queues: The gas shortage has also severely affected CNG filling stations. Low pressure has reduced supplies, creating long queues of CNG-powered auto-rickshaws, microbuses and other vehicles.
Drivers say they are losing a significant portion of their daily income while waiting for gas. Azizul Islam, an auto-rickshaw driver waiting at Super CNG Gas Station, told The Daily Industry that he had already spent around two hours in the queue. ‘I may have to wait another hour, and even then I will probably be able to buy only Tk70 to Tk80 worth of gas,’ he said.
He said drivers have been facing the same situation for the past five or six days, with much of their working time being lost in queues.
Filling stations also hit: Gas stations are struggling to maintain normal operations because there is no certainty over when adequate gas pressure will return. Jasim Uddin, who is responsible for a gas pump in Tejgaon, told The Daily Industry that gas sometimes arrives around midnight and at other times around 4am. ‘We have been able to operate the pump for only two to three hours a day over the past several days,’ he said, adding that the situation was also creating severe financial pressure for station operators.
Government seeks Malaysian assistance: Amid the worsening crisis, the government has stepped up efforts to restore normal gas supplies. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman wrote to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, seeking assistance in resolving the crisis. Education Adviser Mahdi Amin, who is currently visiting Malaysia, handed over the letter in Kuala Lumpur.
The two prime ministers subsequently spoke by phone, during which Tarique Rahman sought Malaysia’s support in addressing the energy crisis. Anwar Ibrahim assured the Bangladeshi prime minister that he would consult the relevant ministries in Malaysia and explore ways to provide assistance as quickly as possible.
The government is also working with domestic and foreign experts to restore the affected LNG terminal and ease the supply shortage. Until the terminal resumes normal operations, however, millions of residents and gas-dependent transport operators are likely to continue facing severe disruptions.
