Gas supply resumes in Dhaka

The gas supply to parts of Dhaka city resumed on Sunday morning, over 24 hours after it had been disrupted by emergency maintenance at a city gas station (CGS) in Ashulia.

Titas Gas Company Managing Director Mostofa Kamal said gas distribution through the pipe where a leak had been detected resumed at 8am, and all affected areas should have gas supply by the afternoon.

On Friday night, Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) received a complaint about a gas leak but the technical team was sent to investigate on Saturday morning.

GTCL west zone’s General Manager (operations) Abu Sayed Mahmud said they detected a leak on a 20-inch diameter pipeline at the GTCL gas station in Ashulia on Friday. “Upon receiving information, a GTCL maintenance team started working at the site from 8am Saturday."

Parts of Dhanmondi, Shyamoli, Agargaon, Ashulia, Savar, Aminbazar,  Dhamrai, Old Dhaka, Shukrabad, Kalabagan, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Jigatala, Sukrabad, Shankar,  Kallyanpur, and Gabtoli areas experienced an acute gas crisis. 

Most people in these areas complained that the gas was turned off without any prior warning and did not know how long the supply was going to be out. 

Meanwhile, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL), in a statement said Lalmatia, Hazaribagh, Paikpara, Kadirabad, Monsurabad, and surrounding areas would also be suffering a gas outage or low pressure until 8pm on Saturday. 

When asked why it took almost 12 hours for them the send a technical team to assess the complaint,  Abu Sayed Mahmud said: “The problem was reported on Friday evening, but a technical team started working on the matter from Saturday morning.“

According to officials at Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, a technical fault in a valve at the transmission station of Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) in Ashulia, led to this sudden disruption in gas supply.