Centre blames Sindh govt for gas shortage in province

Photo: File

Power Minister Omar Ayub has alleged that gas shortage in Sindh is due to the provincial government’s failure to provide a route for new gas lines in the province.

He added that the provincial government by not providing a “right of way” is oppressing the people of Sindh.

Ayub said the federal government will lay the new pipelines if the Sui Southern Gas Company is provided a route by the local authorities.

The minister also claimed that the provincial government had declined federal government’s offer to provide LNG under Article 158.

The gas crisis has made life difficult for Pakistanis who are already finding it difficult to brave cold temperatures during the winter season.

Commercial and residential users of natural gas have also been severely affected by the shortage. 

“We have started dismissing daily wagers while regular employees have been served termination notices,” Chief Coordinator of Karachi Industrial Forum, Javed Bilwani said on Thursday.

CNG stations open briefly

CNG stations in Karachi opened for only eight hours and were ordered to close down for an indefinite period on Saturday.

Long queues emerged at CNG stations on Friday night after news spread that the stations have been allowed to supply gas.

However, the stations were soon ordered to close again on Saturday morning due to low gas pressure. The SSGC said that the stations will be ordered to open again when the gas pressure increases.

The closure of CNG stations has badly hit daily life of the citizens as public transport is not available for the commuters.