Disruption of gas supply make consumers suffer in Peshawar 

PESHAWAR: Disruption of gas supply in the provincial capital on Saturday and Sunday made the consumers suffer and many staged protests to vent their anger.

A big protest rally was staged in Peshawar and was led by Member National Assembly, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, who is a senior leader of the Awami National Party. The protest started from Chowk Shaheedan in historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar and ended at Chowk Yagdar.

Some protestors also came out on the Kohat Road.

Many consumers complained that the disruption was due to unscheduled loadshedding of natural gas in different localities of the provincial capital. Protests have been staged earlier also against low pressure and loadshedding of gas.

The gas hide and seek has forced consumers to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or other sources of fuel to prepare meals and meet other needs.

The disruption of gas supply became acute Saturday evening and continued Sunday morning. It was restored by the afternoon.

However, the general manager of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Arbab Saqib said that there is no loadshedding of gas and the suspension in some areas of the provincial capital on Sunday was because of shifting of the main supply line that was exposed due to the construction work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the GT Road.

Arbab Saqib said that the gas supply in parts of Peshawar was temporarily suspended due to the repair work and re-routing of the main line near Pir Zakori Bridge. 

“The SNGPL crew worked throughout the night and restored the gas supply at 8am gradually. All the concerned officers were on the spot to monitor the huge activity,” he added.

The work on BRT has added to the miseries of gas consumers. The supply remained cut off in certain localities for over 12 hours on Friday. The problem is acute in places like Gulberg, Nauthia, Saddar, Dilazak Road, Warsak Road and the walled city. The SNGPL has been unable to prevent the use of compressors and generators to steal gas. Many consumers use compressors to enhance gas pressure depriving the neighbouring households of the facility. The use of generators is also common despite being illegal.

Consumers said the SNGPL authorities didn’t take timely steps for shifting the pipeline from the BRT route.

SNGPL general manager Arbab Saqib maintained that people were informed through electronic media that during the BRT construction the company would have to take some decisions on the spot due to the sensitive nature of work. He pointed out that this would be a continuing process until the completion of BRT as the main supply line lies underneath the route of BRT. 

“The consumers need to be vigilant and use their appliances carefully since the work is being done at night to avoid suspension of gas at peak hours. We regret any inconvenience to the consumers but we assure them that we remain in the field to repair any damage immediately and all our officers would be on the spot till the job is done,” Arbab Saqib told The News.

“The SNGPL is undertaking a major infrastructure rehabilitation project of its supply along the route of BRT at a cost of Rs253 million. We are laying 27 kilometres of supply mains of various diameters to facilitate consumers in Peshawar city,” he said.

Arbab Saqib pointed out that a project to connect the gas-producing Karak and Kohat districts with western Peshawar city will be started by the end of March. 

“After the completion of this project, the low gas pressure problem in western parts of Peshawar would be solved. The SNGPL has also undertaken projects for strengthening the gas supply of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by laying a 111 kilometres long transmission line from Mardan to Swat and another high pressure distribution line from Abbottabad to Mansehra,” he explained.

About the low gas pressure issue in the industrial estate, he said that Hayatabad Industrial Estate was at the tail end of the pipeline network and a 16-inch, eight kilometres long transmission line dedicated for the industrial estate was being built from the Ring Road. 

“Despite this issue, we are supplying gas in ample quantity to the Industrial Estate during daytime. But the industrial zone is subjected to low gas supply during night time to avoid damage to human lives and properties in case of mishap in construction activities of BRT project. After completion of this project, the Hayatabad Industrial Estate would get proper pressure during night time,” Arbab Saqib said.