Rawalpindi:In Rawalpindi city and cantonment board areas, more than 80 percent of families find themselves compelled to purchase breakfast, lunch, and dinner from local hotels at exorbitant prices due to the absence of gas. The caretaker government has closed all ways for the public to lead a happy life because families facing the worst kind of gas and electricity shortage. The situation has raised concerns as the government appears to overlook the issue and fails to provide adequate domestic gas supply and electricity supply in peak winter season when people are shivering in the cold.
The residents are left in a lurch, scouring for alternative heat sources and resorting to purchasing costly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal, dry wood, kerosene oil, and a recently devised solution the ‘Mobil Oil Stoves available in markets.
In bad situations, people could use electric heaters to warm hands and bodies but it will be possible in the presence of light. The residents are not only facing a shortage of gas but electricity also.
Despite federal government warnings to Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to strictly adhere to the gas supply schedule for domestic users, the system remains compromised. Allegations of a ‘corrupt mafia’ within SNGPL selectively providing gas to those who offer ‘bribes’ exacerbate the situation, leaving the impoverished public to purchase black-market LPG at an exorbitant rate of Rs310 per kilogramme for their essential meals.
‘The News’ conducted a survey where 1-kilogram LPG was selling at Rs310 against the government fixed rate of Rs256, 40-kilogram dry wood was selling at Rs1300 against Rs750, coal at Rs150 against Rs100 and 1-liter kerosene oil selling at different rates of Rs200 to Rs300.
Addressing the issue, Muhammad Kawish, the Executive Engineer (Gas Pressure) of Rawalpindi Region at SNGPL, assured that efforts are being made to supply full-pressure gas to the public during the winter season.
He emphasised that teams are actively addressing pressure issues across the Rawalpindi region, adhering strictly to the scheduled timings for gas supply.
Similarly, Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) spokesman in a statement said that they were getting less electricity quota therefore people were facing load management. The situation will improve after getting the full electricity quota, the spokesman hoped.
However, the assurances seem to ring hollow as the public continues to grapple with low to zero gas pressure, despite tall claims by authorities regarding improvements in gas supply.
Rawalpindi consumers express frustration, lamenting the hefty bills they pay without the provision of natural gas. The prevailing situation paints a bleak picture of a community left without the writ of the government during these challenging times.
“We were paying huge amounts of electricity and gas bills but not enjoying these facilities,” people strongly protested.