Severe gas crisis hits Dhaka CNG stations ahead of Eid

As Eid-ul-Azha approaches, a severe gas crisis has struck CNG stations in Dhaka, forcing some, including Akij Filling Station at Satrasta intersection, to close for over a week.

The gas shortage has hit hard CNG-run vehicle drivers and owners, whose earnings have largely fallen due to the shortage.

Drivers and owners said they have been incurring huge losses as they have had to keep their vehicles off the road for much of the day over the past few days.

What worsens their situation is that they do not get enough CNG at a time, so they have to wait for gas at stations multiple times, further impacting them financially.

For drivers who rent CNG-run vehicles, the situation is worse. Despite their earnings falling significantly due to the gas shortage, the daily rental fees remain unchanged.

CNG-run vehicle drivers said that they are charged by owners the same amount of daily deposits even amid this shortage of gas when they have to struggle to keep the wheels running.

Officials at the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources said that one of the two floating terminals in Cox’s Bazar’s Maheshkhali was recently severely damaged by Cyclone Remal.

As a result, gas supply from this terminal has been stopped since May 27, they said, leading to the shortage.

Officials at Summit Group confirmed the damage.

They said they have assessed the damage to the terminal through international experts, who recommended taking it to Singapore or the Middle East for repairs.

Preparations are ongoing to take the terminal abroad, with expectations that once taken abroad repaired, it may take three weeks to bring it home and put into operation, they added.