“But we have learned that it would take around two months to solve the technical glitch in the Bibiyanagas trans- mission network,” he added An official with Titas Gas(who preferred to remain unnamed) disclosed to The Independent, “Apart from increasing demand and decreasing supply, Titas Gass own ion network, too, is responsible forthis gas crisis.”
The majority of the pipelines installed in Dhaka is out-of date by decades(some are as many as 40 years old). These old pipelines are as narrow as 1.5 in diameter. No initiative to upgrade them has been taken till now. If the pipes had been 3 replaced with broader pipes many households would have been spared the crisis, said a top Titas official, requesting anonymity.
Moreover, a lack of proper maintenance has caused natural gas condensate toaccu mulate inside the pipes over time, which also obstructs the normal gas flow. Illegal gas lines are also responsible for the gas crisis.
Titas Gas has so far detected around 300km of illegal gas distribution pipelines and 300,000 illegal connections. Most of these illegal pipelines were found in Dhaka, while were found in some Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Gazipur districts.
These illegal connections consume at least 250 mmcf of gas, causing the government a loss of several hundred crores of taka on a daily basis, said the official.