Gas outages in the port city continue to halt day-to-day activities on Monday making people’s lives miserable in winters as people can hardly avail the utility supply when they need it most. The worst form of gas load shedding would not stop testing the patience of Karachi people and some areas of the metropolis complain the utility unavailability turning into a utility crisis. Even in other parts of Sindh and Balochistan, the demand for domestic gas on the premise of cold weather has hiked so much that just Quetta now requires 250 mmcfd from previously 200 mmcfd. For Karachi, the fuel supply falls short by 300 mmcfd as the required demand is 1500 mmcfd. Karachi is hardly supplied 1200mmcfd of the utility due to which a crisis like situation has emerged wherein some areas face low pressure if any while many report an outright unavailability of the utility. Other than the domestic users, Karachi’s commercial units and sectors also report the misery of non-existent gas or extra-schedule load shedding. Areas Chakiwara, Baldia Town, Ittehad Town, QaimKhani Colony people suffer gas crisis due to dilapidated line network. Landhi, Pak Colony, Keamarim Burns Road, Defense, Shah Faisal Colony, Malir, North Karachi, Lyari, Garden, North Nazimabad, Saddar, and Korangi are amongst the areas whose residents and commercial units endure the shortage alike. Moreover, Federal B Area, SITE, Karimabad, and Azizabad, too, face gas crisis, residents told media. Some residents say that despite line disconnection for over six months, the gas company Sui Sothern Gas Company (SSGC) is still billing them heavily. The crisis has pushed people to turn to expensive LNG cylinders to plug the demand to supply gap in winters. On the contrary, the sole utility distributor SSGC has said it has taken control of the gas shortage and is on a recovery path. There’s no shortage of gas anywhere in the city, SSGC said, adding that all the industrial units are ensured the fuel supply as per demand.
