PESHAWAR: The natural gas consumers in most parts of the provincial metropolis faced serious problems for over 16 hours due to suspension of supply to different localities from 9:00pm on Saturday to 11:00am on Sunday when it was restored. The sudden suspension of the natural gas caused serious problems for the consumers as SNGPL had not issued any prior notice to them.

“We tried to contact the SNGPL officials by phone, but no one in the Faqirabad offices was available to give us correct information,” Nauman, a consumer in Bara Gate area, told this correspondent.

Another consumer Sadiq Khan of Swati Bazaar said that he was living in a rented building where use of firewood was not allowed and his family faced problems to cook food. He said that he brought food items from bazaar for dinner and also for breakfast the next day (Sunday) as there was no other option left with them.

SNGPL official says supply cut due to shifting of pipelines in BRT project area

Consumers in Hayatabad also said that the supply remained suspended for about 17 hours and that they could not use gas heaters and geysers.

“The SNGPL officials misguided the consumers by saying that the supply would be soon restored on Saturday evening, but they failed to do so,” said a journalist living in Hayatabad. He said that the gas pressure also remained very low. The prolonged suspension also occurred in Atta Mohammad Garhi where the residents faced multiple problems.

However, SNGPL Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general manager Arbab Saqib said in a statement on Sunday that the gas supply had been suspended due to shifting of major pipelines in different areas as part of the ongoing work on Bus Rapid Transit project.

He rejected the assumption about shortage of gas or loadshedding and said that suspension of the supply was a compulsion to complete the work before start of construction work at GT Road. He claimed that the gas supply had been suspended at 2:00am and restored at 8:00am on Sunday.

Mr Saqib said that the consumers should cooperate and keep the geysers, stoves, heaters and lights off during suspension of supply to avoid risks on its restoration. “I am supervising the work where our staff completed the shifting process within 10 hours otherwise the work required three days,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2018