Gas shortage forces closure of all Brahmanbaria filling stations, autorickshaw fares surge

All filling stations in Brahmanbaria have been shut down due to a severe gas shortage affecting the country, causing severe distress to vehicle drivers. Gas supply to the stations has been completely suspended since last night (13 August).

Filling station authorities have no specific information on when the supply will resume. Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited initially restricted gas supply to five filling stations in the district from last Wednesday (12 August).

Following the acute shortage, all filling stations were declared closed last night. As a result, drivers faced immense suffering. Forced by the situation, many CNG-run autorickshaw drivers have started using LPG cylinders while charging extra fares from passengers.

Before the shutdown, Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company supplied 50,000 cubic metres of gas daily to the five filling stations in the district, against a demand almost double that amount. However, due to the ongoing crisis, gas pressure in the filling stations had remained low for over two weeks. Although gas is supposed to be supplied at 15 PSI, it was being delivered at just 3 to 4 PSI.

Finally, the Bakhrabad Gas authorities reduced the supply further from last Wednesday, before completely halting it last night, forcing the closure of the stations. Meanwhile, the movement of CNG autorickshaws on roads and highways has significantly dropped due to the gas shortage. Although a limited number of auto-rickshaws are operating on LPG cylinders, they are charging nearly double the usual fare, worsening the plight of commuters.

Abul Kashem, a passenger, said he had to wait for an hour at the town's Kumarshill Mor to catch an autorickshaw for the Nandanpur Bscic Industrial Area. However, the driver demanded Tk80 instead of the regular fare of Tk40. After bargaining, he managed to agree on Tk70.

Joni Miah, an autorickshaw driver operating on the Kumarshill Mor–Sarail-Biswa Road intersection route, said the regular fare on this route is Tk50. However, due to the gas crisis, he had been charging passengers Tk70 since last Wednesday. Since yesterday, he has been forced to charge Tk90, as he is now running his vehicle on LPG cylinders.

Azizul Haque, manager of Sopan Filling Station in Sarail, said gas supply to the station has been suspended since last Wednesday. Unable to supply gas to vehicles, they had to close the filling station. He added that Bakhrabad Gas authorities informed them that gas supply might resume by next Sunday or Monday.

When contacted, Engr Md Shafiqul Haque, deputy general manager of Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (Brahmanbaria Branch), said, "Uninterrupted gas supply cannot be provided to customers due to an LNG shortage. Higher authorities are also unable to specify when the crisis will be resolved, though it is clear it will take some time."