Crowds of CNG drivers at Uttara Filling Stations amid gas crisis

A severe gas shortage has hit filling stations in Uttara, causing long queues of CNG-run vehicles and leaving drivers struggling to refuel.

The crisis was observed at several filling stations in Abdullahpur and surrounding areas on Sunday morning. With gas unavailable or supplied at very low pressure, many stations have stopped selling CNG, while long lines of vehicles have formed outside others.

At Khandakar Filling Station on the eastern side of the Uttara-Abdullahpur area, a long queue of vehicles was seen waiting for gas. Buses and motorcycles arriving at the station were taking diesel and octane instead.

The manager of Messrs Masud Hasan station said the queue had grown as a large portion of public transport depends on CNG.

“We are not getting enough gas. Titas Gas is not supplying us properly. If we do not have gas, how can we sell it?” the station authority said, adding that the station had been facing the shortage for about a week.

A similar situation was found at RSR Filling Station on the western side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway. A sales employee said the problem had continued for six to seven days.

“Since 7am, I have just been sitting here. There was some pressure after 2:30pm, but it disappeared again,” he said.

At the nearby Tasin Filling Station, however, CNG-run vehicles and private cars were seen waiting in long queues. Drivers said they had to wait for hours without receiving enough gas.

Manik, a CNG driver, said he had arrived at 5am but was still waiting for gas.

“I have to pay the vehicle owner. How will I run my family? My daughter’s school fees are due. I do not know what I will do,” he said.

Drivers said the gas shortage had sharply reduced their daily earnings, making it difficult to pay the vehicle owners’ deposits and meet household expenses.

Another driver, Zahid Hossain, said he has to pay Tk1,200 to the vehicle owner every day, while spending around Tk400 on gas and another Tk200�"250 on other daily expenses.

He said his income had stopped for the past seven days because of the gas shortage.

Mohammad Shakib Hossain, manager of Masud Filling Station, said gas pressure had remained low for about a week.

“Almost all the filling stations in the area are closed. Even though we use electricity to operate the pumps, there is virtually no gas pressure,” he said.

SKS