Citizens protest low gas pressure in Quetta

QUETTA: With gas crisis seems to be deepening with a spike in the ongoing cold wave across the country, a number of people staged a protest demonstration against low gas pressure on the Airport road here on Friday.

The protesting citizens blocked the road, suspending vehicular movement for some time.

They demanded proper gas supply to meet household needs and keep themselves warm in the extreme weather.

The protesters said they have been facing hardships in the biting cold because of low gas pressure in the areas near the Airport road and Almoon Chowk.

The issues of gas shortage, low gas pressure and loadshedding have hit most parts of the country with an increase in demand of the commodity owing to the cold conditions as people have cranked up heaters to stave off cold.

According to a report, a sudden drop in temperature across the country has deepened the ongoing gas crisis as the total shortfall surged to 600 million metric cubic feet a day (MMCFD) that may force the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to curtail the supply to sectors other than domestic consumers.

The shortfall has affected not only the supply to domestic consumers but also to the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector for the past several days.