As many as 367 CNG stations remained closed on Monday due to constant unscheduled gas supply suspension to the CNG stations in the provincial metropolis which multiplied the sufferings of masses. People from the different walk of life in the city on Monday condemned the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the government for making their lives more difficult by suspending gas supply to CNG stations, violating the pre-planned load-management programme.
CNG owner Rahmat said that the government was supporting petroleum companies, giving them an unfair advantage against CNG sellers. The government claims that the countrywide gas load shedding is aimed at ensuring gas supply for domestic users and industries.
Rejecting, the gas load-management plan approved by the Cabinet, All-Pakistan CNG Association, Chairman Ghayas Piracha, told Business Recorder that CNG stations throughout the Punjab consume only seven percent of the total production of the gas in the country and there is no reason for suspending supply to CNG stations, he added. He said that the decision had been taken to supply uninterrupted gas to rental power plants, which were also deprived of it and people were facing power load shedding across the country.
Ghiyas said the government was acting irrationally, and this move will not only ruin the CNG business, but also hinder mobility of the people. He said the government was planning to bring the prices of petrol and CNG at the same level and recent increase in the price of CNG was the prominent proof of it. Paracha said the consequences would be severe if the decision were implemented. He added, "It will be a direct attack on the mobility of people."
He further said that the CNG station owners had made huge investments in the sector but the government was not taking the matter seriously. "We have investment of around Rs 1.9 trillion, which would become pointless if the prices of CNG were raised to the price of petrol.
He said that the government should chalk out the gas load-management programme in consultation with the main stakeholders so that no sector can be deprived of its livelihood and business. "We have invested more than four billion rupees in setting up more than 3,000 CNG stations and other facilities in the country to provide cheep and environmental friendly fuel to the transport sector, " he maintained.
Paracha further said that if the government increased the price of gas to bring it at par with the petrol and diesel prices then it would unbearably increase the oil import bill of the country and critically disturb the import and export bill of the country.
Therefore, there should be at least 50 percent price difference between the petrol and CNG prices to lessen burden of the common man. He said there were 2.5 million vehicles that were running on gas, whereas 0.9 million vehicles were totally dependent on gas in the country. He said that CNG stations use only 7 percent of the total gas demand and provide jobs to 0.4 million households.
Consumers have strongly criticised SNGC for creating problems for them by suspending the gas supply and increasing CNG prices. They said the government encouraged the use of gas and people installed CNG kits in their vehicles, but after an investment of Rs 25,000 to 50,000, they were informed that there would be a shortage of CNG. "If there was not enough gas, then why were users encouraged to go for CNG," said a banker, Zulfiqar Khan.