Published : 04 Aug 2026, 06:58 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:30 AM
A further reduction in gas supplies to Chattogram has severely intensified hardship across the port city.
From Monday morning throughout the day, the vast majority of households in the city were left without gas for cooking.
In the few areas where gas was available, the pressure was so low that preparing meals proved impossible.
Most drivers at CNG filling stations were unable to obtain fuel despite queuing from morning until evening.
Vehicle traffic on the roads was noticeably sparse throughout the day.
By the evening rush hour, public transport was minimal, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded at major intersections.
On Monday afternoon at the Kuliarchar CNG station near the Railway Officers’ Club, long queues of vehicles stretched down the road waiting for gas.
Some drivers were seen having lunch inside their parked vehicles.
Khairul, a bus driver who gave only a single name, said: "I came here after hearing they were supplying gas between midnight and 8am. But no gas has been provided since.
“If I spend the whole day standing here, when am I supposed to earn a living?"
The queue of vehicles at this station extended along the main road all the way to the CRB area.
Just as on Sunday, households across the city were left without gas from early on Monday.
Where supply was maintained, it was negligible, with pressure too low to light stove burners.
Bilkis Fatima, a homemaker from Chawkbazar, told bdnews24.com: "The stove is burning barely a trickle. Cooking a single dish takes an hour and a half.
“I started cooking in the morning and finished at noon. We cannot afford to buy food from restaurants for every meal."
Gas supplies to Chattogram have been constrained since Jul 21, following technical faults at the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) LNG terminal in Moheshkhali, Cox's Bazar.
However, supply was curtailed even further from Saturday night, severely heightening the crisis.
The shortage has disrupted deliveries to industrial plants, CNG stations, power plants, fertiliser factories, and residential households.
Low gas pressure has not only hampered production across manufacturing units but also led to increased power outages.
Officials at Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL), which manages gas distribution in Chattogram, said that larger volumes of gas are being directed to the Dhaka region from the national grid to bolster supplies there.
As a result, the port city’s allocation has fallen further over the past two days, which caused the current shortfall.
According to KGDCL data, normal gas demand in the region is 350 million cubic feet (mmcf) a day.
Following the technical fault at the LNG terminal, the city received 230mmcf from the national grid on Friday.
This dropped to 217mmcf on Saturday, 200mmcf on Sunday and 194mmcf on Monday.
A senior KGDCL official told bdnews24.com, "We can only distribute what we receive.
“As the volume decreased, pressure has dropped across many areas, disrupting supplies to filling stations and households.
"The situation will not improve until repairs on the FSRU are completed."
