The Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited has started a drive to disconnect gas connections of about 20,000 customers in the Dhaka metropolitan area – to realise Tk400 crore bills that are due. Thirty Titas Gas teams are now engaged in the drive against default consumers. Titas officials said they have been issuing notices to the defaulting consumers for a long time to pay their respective outstanding bills. But many consumers are still not heeding to the notices.
Reportedly, Titas Gas has a total of 2.8 million consumers across its command areas – mainly in greater Dhaka and Mymensingh. Officials of Titas said that there are a huge number of illegal gas connections in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Munshiganj areas.
According to the latest “Illegal Gas Connection Eviction Progress Report". Titas, has snapped illegal gas lines stretching for 996.81 kilometres in the last two and a half years, which is equal to 7.5 percent of its legal lines. The government does not get any bills against these illegal gas lines. As a result, the government is being deprived of a huge amount of revenue from this sector. Titas Gas authorities cannot deny their liabilities for this disorder.
Drives must be conducted
regularly to disconnect
the illegal gas lines
There is no denying that Titas officials do conduct drives to sever the illegal gas lines, but the problem is that there are unscrupulous people within the gas company who are involved in providing illegal gas connections.
Capital's gas distribution system has become a death trap over the years. Most of the gas pipelines in and around Dhaka are 30-40 years old and almost dilapidated. These gas connections and old dilapidated pipelines are not only responsible for the wastage of huge amount of gas but also such gas connections often lead to incidents of fire and explosions.
Taking all into consideration, the government should devise necessary measures to identity those corrupt officials involved in providing illegal gas lines and take stringent action against them. Also, drives must be conducted regularly to disconnect the illegal gas lines. Strong political commitment is needed to disconnect all the illegal gas lines in the country.