Gas crisis: violent protests break out in twin cities

Violent protests against the shutdown of CNG stations and massive hike in natural gas tariffs broke out across the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad on Monday. People turned violent and blocked the Islamabad Expressway, Grand Trunk (GT) Road, Murree Road and Faizabad flyover and hurled stones at passing vehicles when they found no public transport to reach their workplaces in the morning.
In the twin cities, majority of the people is serving in the public or private sectors and has to cover up to 30-40 kilometers to reach their workplaces. In the absence of public transport, taxi and rickshaw drivers took full advantage of the situation by charging three times higher fare from commuters.
Protesters urged the government to revisit the recent increase in gas prices for domestic and CNG sector and implement the gas supply agreement with different sectors of the economy in letter and spirit. Those, who have their own vehicles, also faced severe difficulties to get their offices as there were long queues of vehicles at every filling station and it took them around three to four hours to get CNG and petrol.
Talking to the Business Recorder, President Muttahida Transporters Union, Muhammad Sultan said that the government had failed to provide CNG to public transport on priority basis. He said that the transporters would continue to protest until the government would take effective measures in this connection. He added that they would not pay any heed to its lame promises as it committed to give CNG to public transports on priority basis but did not fulfil its commitments. He demanded the authorities concerned to restore CNG supply to public transports and lift the ban.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan at present is facing serious gas shortage, as its supply is around 4.2 billion cubic feet per day against demand of 6 billion cubic feet per day. CNG sector is consuming around 250 million cubic feet gas per day and power sector around 800 mmcfd , while domestic sector's total gas requirement in winter season crosses over 1 billion cubic feet per day. The government is also providing nearly 600 and 190 mmcfd gas to industrial and fertiliser sectors respectively. The government recently increased gas prices for domestic, industrial, commercial sectors by 14 percent and for CNG sector by 30 percent.