Severe gas shortage cripples transport, daily life in Ctg
Low gas pressure has created long queues of vehicles waiting for fuel at CNG filling stations across the port city as the lines have spilt over onto the city's main thoroughfares and the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, causing traffic severe traffic jams
A severe gas shortage in Chattogram has disrupted both public transport and residential life, with low gas pressure creating long queues of vehicles stretching up to two kilometres at CNG filling stations in the port city.
Following a drop in gas pressure on Tuesday night (11 August), long lines persisted at filling stations throughout the next day and this morning (13 August).
Unable to get gas even after waiting for hours, many CNG-run autorickshaws have been forced off the roads and back home.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The long queues at filling stations have spilt over onto the city's main thoroughfares and the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, causing severe traffic congestion in surrounding areas and slowing vehicle movement across multiple points.
With the CNG-run autorickshaws off the roads, pressure on buses as alternative public transport has mounted.
Passengers alleged that fares have been hiked by Tk10 to Tk15 on several routes, while smaller oil-powered vehicles are reportedly charging Tk50 to Tk100 in extra fares.
Abdul Gafur, an autorickshaw driver waiting at a filling station in the Oxygen Intersection area, told The Business Standard, "I have been standing in line since 7am. I could not get gas until the afternoon. The gas pressure is so low that refuelling one vehicle takes three to four times longer than usual."
Abdul Kader, another driver in the Dampara area, said, "I waited in line last night as well but could not get gas. Later, I hit the road using petrol. But due to increased fares, I am hardly finding any passengers."
Another driver, Gafur Ahmed, stated that while some autorickshaws capable of running on both petrol and gas have managed to operate using oil, strictly gas-powered vehicles remain completely grounded.
Drivers said waiting long hours at filling stations wastes a major portion of their working hours, sharply reducing their daily income and making it difficult to pay the daily vehicle rental fee to owners.
Pressure on buses rises
With fewer CNG-run autorickshaws operating, passengers are facing long waits even for short distances. The passenger pressure on buses has increased significantly, particularly on the New Market–Oxygen, Bahaddarhat–New Market, Kalurghat–Katgarh, and Bhatiari–Patenga routes.
Pressure on alternative transport has also surged in Oxygen Intersection, 2 No Gate, Muradpur, GEC, Tigerpass, Agrabad, EPZ, and Bandartila areas.
Latifun Nahar, a garment worker in the EPZ area, told TBS, "Due to the gas crisis, the number of autorickshaws has decreased. So we are forced to board buses.
"But even there, we have to pay extra fares. For garment workers like us, this extra expense is a huge burden."
Shahanaz Akter, a student at Chattogram Government Women's College, said, "The number of autorickshaws has dropped due to the gas crisis, and buses are overcrowded. We have to wait a long time and pay extra fares in some cases, making it difficult to reach college on time."
Extra fares
Passengers alleged that drivers are taking advantage of the gas crisis to overcharge.
On the New Market–Oxygen, Bahaddarhat–New Market, Kalurghat–Katgarh, and Bhatiari–Patenga routes, passengers claimed they are being charged an extra Tk10 to Tk15 per person.
Additionally, oil-run three-wheelers and other small vehicles are allegedly charging Tk50 to Tk100 extra.
A commuter, Md Romjan, told TBS, "As autorickshaws on the road decreased, drivers started demanding higher fares. We are forced to pay more. The suffering from the gas crisis is now falling entirely on the passengers."
However, Mohammad Shahjahan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, clarified that no organisational decision has been made to hike public transport fares.
He said, "Drivers are having to wait hours for gas, and some are taking extra fares on their own initiative. But there is no instruction from the association to charge extra."
Clarifying that gas-driven vehicles cannot easily be switched to oil, he added that demanding higher fares by citing extra oil costs is misleading.
"Someone might take advantage of the gas crisis to charge more, but that cannot be called an association decision," he asserted.
Residential areas face the crunch
In addition to the transport sector, residential areas have been hit hard by the gas shortage.
Home cooking was disrupted across several areas of the city this morning due to low pressure.
Shabnam Akter, a resident of Khulshi Garibullah Shah Housing Society, said she could not cook at home due to a lack of gas since morning.
She told TBS, "Gas pressure was low yesterday as well, so cooking took a long time. Today there is no gas at all and we were forced to buy food from outside."
Supply nearly halves
According to Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited, Chattogram has a daily demand of around 350 million cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas.
Amid the current crisis, supply has plummeted to between 180 and 210 mmcfd, leaving a deficit of approximately 40% to 50%.
Karnaphuli officials said supply problems at the floating LNG terminal in Moheshkhali and adverse weather conditions at sea caused the supply drop.
Petrobangla Director (Operations) Md Shohaib said wind speeds in the Moheshkhali area were around 38 knots. They need to drop below 20 knots to safely dock LNG vessels at the terminal, he added.
He stated that once the weather becomes normal, ships carrying LNG will dock, increasing supply.
However, until supply normalises, the impact of the gas crisis on city transport, residential life, and other sectors is likely to continue, the Petrobangla official warned.
