Providing 24/7 gas supply to masses not possible, says Pakistan minister

Pakistan's Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik said that they cannot give a 24x7 gas supply to the masses, according to The News International.

Pakistan is highly dependent on natural gas for energy and with the rising demand and insufficient supply, load-shedding in the country has become a daily occurrence. the situation worsened during Ramazan as the masses need gas for cooking and other reason, especially during sehri and iftar timings.

While talking with journalists in Karachi, the minister said that the gas load-shedding would end during sehri and iftar. "We cannot provide gas 24 hours as our reserves have dropped," he added.

The issue of gas load-shedding in Karachi caught Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's attention recently, and he directed relevant officials to ensure an uninterrupted supply of the commodity.

He said the process of supply of gas should be supervised and no negligence should be tolerated, The News International reported.

Due to the widening gap between gas supply and demand, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced its decision to suspend the supplies to captive power plants and industries last week.

The gas utility said that the decision has been taken considering the low supply of gas. It stated that the volume of gas in pipelines had decreased due to a reduction in supply. In response, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) called for immediate government action over the shortage of gas supply to Karachi industries, saying the industries could not function without gas and would be forced to halt production, as per the report in The News International.

"It's highly unfair to have such an attitude towards Karachi's business community which, despite facing so many odds and challenges, contributes around 54 per cent in terms of exports and more than 68 per cent in terms of revenue," KCCI president Muhammad Tariq Yousuf said. While talking to journalists, Malik said his visit to Karachi was based on resolving the gas supply issue that the people are facing and urged them to ensure payment of their utility bills. "The gas bill of the rich and poor has been separated; rich people will have to pay more now," the minister said.