Gas Crisis Acute in Manikganj Town
Dwellers opt for earthen ovens
A housewife in Manikganj town cooks meal on the earthen oven as gas supply in the town remains stopped during daytime.Photo: STAR
Acute gas crisis has forced many dwellers of the town to use earthen ovens to prepare their meals. Though they have been facing the problem of smooth gas supply for the last one year, the supply situation is worsening day by day. On January 19, townspeople gave a seven-day deadline to ensure smooth gas supply to households, but the deadline ended yesterday without any positive result. Yesterday, they took out a procession and then held a rally in the town to mount pressure again on the authorities concerned to meet the demand. Hundreds of people joined the procession and paraded the main street. Later, they held a rally where Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Inu) Manikganj district unit President Iqbal Hossain Khan, Awami League (AL) Manikganj unit General Secretary Gazi Kamrul Huda Selim and Organising Secretary Dipak Kumar Ghosh spoke. The speakers blamed a section of corrupt officials and employees at the gas office in the town for creating the gas crisis by selling gas to the industries and CNG stations. To mitigate the woes of the townspeople, they urged the authorities concerned to ensure gas supply to the households at least three times a day. They urged the authorities to ensure gas supply during daytime immediately. Otherwise, they threatened to go for a tougher agitation programme and stop payment of gas bill. Contacted, Sirajul Islam, manager of Manikganj office of Titas Gas and Distributing Company Limited, said there are 13,932 domestic, 100 business and 60 industrial lines and 20 CNG stations under the office. “I have already informed the authorities concerned of the problem and sought their immediate intervention in this regardâ€, he added. The protesters also met Manikganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Masood Karim and requested him to help mitigate the suffering of the townspeople. The DC assured them of taking initiatives to solve the problem.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments