KOHAT: The early lifting of ban on supply of gas to CNG stations in the severe cold under duress on Thursday again started aggravating the miseries of domestic consumers.

Deputy Commissioner Furqan Ashraf had ordered a complete ban on supply of gas to filling stations from February 1 for a whole month to mitigate the problems of gas outages and low pressure.

The women had been protesting outside his office complaining that they could not prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the families after the lifting of ban.

But now there is no gas in the mornings, afternoons and evenings to provide it to the transporters, who also stage protests.

The laying of an alternative wider 16 inch gas supply pipeline from the Dhodha central metering system to Kohat had also been delayed and would take months to become operational.

“The cold winter would be over but a smooth supply of gas to the people could not be ensured,” patron-in-chief of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CNG Filling Stations Haji Sajid told Dawn.

He said that five lines had been taken out from Dhoda to provide gas to Islamabad, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan and Kohat. They also include extra lines, connecting them to Karrappa and Karak.

JIRGA HALL: Orakzai Deputy Commissioner Adnan Fareed Afridi inaugurated a jirga hall, set up under the community resilience activity (CRA) and funded by USAID.

He said that the jirga hall would facilitate the recently returned temporarily displaced tribesmen and serve as an important place to restore tribal traditions.

He said that it would also serve as an effective platform for bringing closer the tribesmen and strengthening cohesion.

The function was participated by the team leader of CRA, Inamullah Khan, and tribal elders from upper and lower Orakzai.

The deputy commissioner urged tribesmen to resolve their petty disputes themselves as Islam taught them brotherhood.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2023