CNG station owners withdraw 30 July strike amid gas supply crisis
Owners warn of an indefinite nationwide shutdown from 23 August if their demands remain unmet.
Highlights:
- Indefinite nationwide shutdown planned from 23 August if demands go unmet
- Owners demand CNG sales commission be raised to Tk13.96 per cubic metre
- Strike withdrawn after Maheshkhali LNG terminal fire disrupted gas supplies
- Association presses four-point demand, citing mounting operational costs
Owners of compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations have withdrawn their planned symbolic strike scheduled for 30 July, citing the ongoing nationwide gas supply crisis.
However, they warned that an indefinite nationwide shutdown of CNG filling stations will begin on 23 August if their demands are not met.
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The announcement was made today (27 July) at a press conference held at the headquarters of the CNG Filling Station and Conversion Owners Association in Bijoynagar. Amiruzzaman Chowdhury, convener of the steering committee formed to implement the protest programme, made the announcement.
Association leader Farhan Noor said the commission on CNG sales has remained unchanged at Tk8 per cubic metre since 1 September 2015 despite repeated increases in electricity and gas prices and rising operational costs driven by inflation.
He said station owners have long demanded that the commission be raised to at least Tk13.96 per cubic metre, arguing that higher labour costs, bank guarantee fees, loan interest rates, exchange rate fluctuations and other operating expenses have made the current rate unsustainable.
Farhan said government reviews have acknowledged the validity of the demand, but it has yet to be implemented for "unexplained reasons". He added that the association has also proposed reducing feed gas prices to facilitate the commission adjustment.
The association said a three-member delegation met with the ministers for power, energy and mineral resources, expatriates' welfare, and environment following the announcement of the protest programme on 21 July.
The leaders said CNG station owners were being forced to operate at a loss and had little choice but to announce the strike.
However, they decided to withdraw the planned 18-hour symbolic shutdown – scheduled from 6am to midnight on 30 July – after a fire at part of the floating LNG terminal operated by Excelerate Energy at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar disrupted gas supplies across the country.
"We want to extend our cooperation to the government during this difficult time," Amiruzzaman said.
He, however, warned that if the owners' demands are not addressed within the stipulated timeframe, the decision to shut down all CNG filling stations across the country indefinitely from 23 August will remain in force.
Earlier, on 21 July, the association placed a four-point demand, including increasing the commission on CNG sales, introducing an automatic commission adjustment mechanism whenever gas prices are raised, stopping the collection of additional security deposits from existing customers on the pretext of gas price hikes, and reducing Roads and Highways Department lease charges and government licence fees to reasonable levels.
