Gas crisis leaves auto-rickshaw drivers languishing in queues, facing income drop
Reduced gas supply at refuelling stations is forcing drivers to wait for hours to refuel, disrupting passenger services and reducing daily incomes.
Highlights:
- Gas shortage creates long queues at refuelling stations
- Drivers wait hours to refuel, losing daily income
- Ride-sharing services disrupted by fuel shortage
- Low gas pressure slows refuelling at filling stations
- LNG terminal outage prolongs nationwide gas crisis
The ongoing gas supply crisis across Bangladesh has disrupted operations at CNG refuelling stations, forcing drivers to wait for hours to refuel as reduced gas pressure slows service and cuts their daily earnings.
A visit to several filling stations in the Tejgaon and Moghbazar areas of Dhaka today (29 July) found hundreds of CNG-run auto-rickshaws and other vehicles lined up in long queues.
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Many drivers said they had been waiting for two to three hours without being able to refuel.
Mohammadpur-based auto-rickshaw driver Md Jahangir Alam said prolonged waits were severely affecting his income.
"I've been in the queue since noon. It's been more than two hours, and I still haven't got gas. In this time, I could have completed at least three or four trips. How are we supposed to support our families if we spend hours waiting for fuel?" he said.
Md Arif Hossain, who drives for ride-sharing platform Uber, said the shortage was also disrupting passenger services.
"If I can't get gas, I have to cancel trips. Passengers become frustrated. Every day, several hours are wasted just waiting for fuel. My income has dropped, and the uncertainty makes it difficult to plan my work," he said.
Nazmul Hasan, an operator at a filling station, said the station was receiving gas at much lower pressure than usual.
"We are not getting sufficient gas pressure. As a result, filling each vehicle takes much longer than before. Drivers are understandably frustrated, but there is little we can do. We are supplying whatever gas we receive," he said.
The supply disruption follows a fire at Excelerate Energy's floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, on 21 July.
The shutdown of the terminal has reduced gas supply to the national grid by around 450 million cubic feet per day.
The government, however, fast-tracked approval for the import of critical spare parts for the damaged Excelerate Energy floating LNG terminal, aiming to restore operations as quickly as possible following severe disruptions to the country's gas supply after the recent fire incident.
Earlier on Sunday, Excelerate Energy sought permission through Petrobangla to import the spare parts needed to replace the damaged equipment. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division approved the request promptly the same day.
The division also instructed the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports to issue the import permit within one hour of receiving the application in an effort to expedite the restoration of the country's gas supply.
Although repair work has begun, officials do not expect the terminal to resume operations this month.
