B’desh gas crisis deepens financial hardships for CNG filling stations; puts jobs at risk
Dhaka, Aug 6 (IANS) Amid an ongoing gas crisis in Bangladesh, owners of CNG filling stations are facing mounting financial losses as low gas supply has reduced sales at most stations to less than half, local media reported on Thursday.
As a result, many owners are forced to cover staff salaries and allowances, electricity and water bills, station rent, and other operating expenses from their own pockets.
The reduced workload at filling stations has also put the jobs of many employees at risk.
They have voiced their frustration, saying effective initiatives are yet to be taken to address the gas crisis, Bangladeshi Bengali daily Jugantor reported.
According to the employees, the country’s CNG filling stations have been grappling with multiple challenges for a long time.
Of the 18 per cent profit margin fixed by the government, nearly 14 per cent is spent on electricity bills, leaving only 4 per cent to cover staff salaries and other operational expenses.
The latest gas crisis has further worsened the situation, making it difficult to keep the station running.
“The staff’s salaries and station expenses are paid from the income from gas sales. But gas is not being sold because the pressure is low. The staff have to be paid while they are sitting. If this crisis lasts long, there will be no choice but to lay off employees,” Jugantor quoted Purbachal Filling Station Manager Md. Shah Alam as saying.
Furthermore, Mahesh Roy, general manager of Best Eastern CNG filling station, said, “We have 27 staff at our station. Most of them are sitting now because they are not working. The big question now is how long the owner will keep them like this and pay their salaries. If sales decrease further, there will be no option but to lay off the employees.”
The ongoing gas crisis in Bangladesh has reportedly been caused by a fire at a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Cox’s Bazar on July 21, which damaged one of its two boilers and forced the facility to stop operations.
The closed floating LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal-FSRU of US company Accelerate Energy has finally reopened partially, with limited LNG supply to the national grid resuming on Wednesday evening.
However, the lack of LNG cargoes until August 20 continues to pose a challenge to ensuring uninterrupted gas supply, Jugantor reported.
The country previously supplied around 2.65 billion cubic feet of gas per day, of which more than 1.1 billion cubic feet came from LNG. However, following the fire at the Accelerate Energy terminal on July 21, daily gas supply has dropped to around 2.13–2.14 billion cubic feet.
The resulting gas shortage has disrupted production across nearly all industrial sectors, with many industries now on the verge of closure.
–IANS
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