The trade body leaders here have urged the authorities concerned of the government to supply adequate gas for industries, businesses and domestic consumers in Chittagong. In a statement to the press, president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam urged the energy adviser to the Prime Minister, state minister for energy and mineral resources and chairman of Petrobangla to provide gas supply as the industries and other consumers are suffering a lot due to severe gas crisis. He said that he sent a letter to the Energy Adviser Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister Nasrul Hamid and Petrobangla chairman Istiaque Ahmed on January 21 stating the plight of people in Chittagong. He said that due to gas crisis production in the industries is severely being hampered and foreign buyers are becoming dissatisfied as they are not getting the exports on schedule. He further said that the domestic gas, consumers, businesses, hotels and restaurants have not been getting gas for the last one week while production is being hampered in fertiliser and power plants. “Please enhance gas supply from the national grid immediately to help resolve the gas crisis,” he said. In another statement, president of Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khalilur Rahman said Chittagong has been facing the worst ever gas crisis over the last one week. “To meet this crisis we want urgent steps from the government authorities concerned.” He said that production of Bakhrabad gas field was 1,744 million cubic feet of gas a day (mmcfd) when the company was involved in the process of distribution of gas in Chittagong region. The production of gas has gone up to 2,740 mmcfd.
