It was a long-standing habit of the housewives of this country to start cooking before dawn. But that practice has now been severely disrupted. Pipeline gas pressure is now like a fairy tale we hear from city after city lamenting its lack of availability. But as an alternative, millions of people of the country depended on liquefied petroleum gas or LPG cylinders, there is now an extreme anarchy and instability. The country's gas crisis is no longer just a kitchen problem, it has become a national crisis. The chaos that is going on with the price of LPG cylinders, the common people is passing through a terrible uncomfortable situation. From the middle class to the marginalized, everyone is suffering.
But over time, due to the stagnation in extraction of that gas and the dangerous depletion of reserves, we are now heavily dependent on imported LPG. From the modern residences of the capital to remote hills or chars, cylinder gas is now an essential commodity. But the unfortunate thing is that the arbitrariness of the supply and price of these cylinders in the market has left the general public breathless. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) fixes the price of LPG every month. At the beginning of 2026, the price of 12 kg cylinder is fixed at Tk 1306, but the actual picture speaks of a completely different world. It is published in different media that it is being sold at a higher price than the fixed price in different parts of the country.
Cylinder gas is no longer a luxury, it is the minimum means of human
survival. However, the mismanagement of this sector and inability to
control the syndicate is considered as a major administrative failure of
the administration. Many low-income families are now unable to afford
cylinders and are forced to revert to primitive clay stoves or
wood-burning stoves, which also have a long-term negative impact on the
environment and public health risks
The most basic need of a family's daily life is to prepare food. And when that cooking fuel becomes scarce or unaffordable, human life literally grinds to a halt. Pipeline gas supply is so limited in many parts of the country that after two or three o'clock in the morning when everyone is fast asleep, gas is seen for a short time. As a result working people and students have to be subjected to extreme suffering. Cooking all day late at night at the expense of sleep or buying substandard food from hotels at high prices during the day - neither can be a picture of a healthy society. As people turn to cylinders as a last resort to escape from this hopeless situation, they are bleeding in the clutches of syndicates. Importers and dealers are creating an artificial crisis by citing LC complications, shipping crisis or rising dollar prices, the ultimate cost of which is to be paid by the common man.
Ensuring energy security is one of the primary constitutional responsibilities of any sovereign state. But in our country, the import dependence in this sector has increased so much that even a slight instability in the international market causes an earthquake in the country's market. The lack of a visionary long-term plan for our own gas exploration and production has pushed us to the brink today. Cylinder gas is no longer a luxury, it is the minimum means of human survival. However, the mismanagement of this sector and inability to control the syndicate is considered as a major administrative failure of the administration. Many low-income families are now unable to afford cylinders and are forced to revert to primitive clay stoves or wood-burning stoves, which also have a long-term negative impact on the environment and public health risks.
The writer is Vice President, Chandina Press Club
