‘Centre-caused CNG crisis may render thousands jobless’

If the issue of gas shortage in Karachi is not addressed, more than 50,000 families in the city will be deprived of their livelihoods and the federal government will be to blame for it.

Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said this as he spoke with The News on Sunday. He asserted that it was clear from the Article 158 of the constitution that being the producer of gas, Sindh will have the first right to its natural resource and only after Sindh had fulfilled its gas needs, its gas could be supplied to other provinces.

Calling the federal government inefficient and selected, he said it had been violating the constitution by not providing enough gas to Sindh. He bemoaned the frequent closures of CNG stations due to which many people, who used CNG to run their vehicles, had been facing severe hardships.

Ghani warned that if the gas crisis was not resolved, thousands of people running rickshaws in the city will be rendered jobless and others will be compelled to raise their fares abnormally, which will add to the financial woes of those who could not travel in buses due to health or other issues.

He added that many drivers working for ride-hailing companies like Careem and Uber also relied on CNG and their jobs were also being affected due to the gas shortage. According to Ghani, the gas crisis could raise the transport fares by as high as 40 per cent and it would add to the miseries of the people already burdened by inflation. As hundreds of CNG stations were allowed to open for only 12 hours a week, those who relied on CNG for their jobs could not make their both ends and it was the federal government that was responsible for their plight, he said.

The information minister lamented that despite several reminders sent to the prime minister by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for resolution of the gas crisis, the Centre had not taken any notice of the issue and it continued to deprive Sindh of its due rights.

He said as CNG was not available, motorists had started to use petrol bottles, due to which accidents were taking place. He also mentioned how various industries had been severely affected by the gas shortage.