Gas crisis forces 20 factories in Mymensingh to send workers home

Industrialists in Mymensingh are struggling as the gas crisis continues in the industrial areas. With machines shut down due to a lack of gas, workers at 20 factories in the district were sent home by noon yesterday, Thursday. Production at other factories is also being disrupted because of low gas pressure.

Production at major factories in the industrial areas has fallen to an average of 50 per cent, said Ansar Uddin, superintendent of police of Industrial Police-5. According to industrial police data, there are 293 industrial establishments in Mymensingh’s industrial areas, 99 of which are gas-powered.

Almost every gas-dependent factory is currently facing a crisis. Although factories are trying to keep some production running using generators and electricity, this is insufficient to meet demand. As a result, overall production has been adversely affected.

Meanwhile, angry over being without electricity for nearly a week, local residents attacked and vandalised the PDB office in Ishwarganj municipal town in Mymensingh. A sub-assistant engineer of the PDB was allegedly assaulted during the incident.

According to industrial police sources, textile and yarn-manufacturing factories are being hit hardest by the gas crisis. At Toyo Spinning Mills in Gauripur, 43 of its 50 machines have had to be shut down. The remaining seven machines are being operated using electricity supplied by the PDB. At Seema Spinning Mills in Bhaluka, all 30 machines have been shut down, reducing the company’s production by 50 per cent.

Production has also fallen by 50 per cent or more at Bashar Spinning, Nortex Textile and Delta Spinners. At Experience Textile, 40 per cent of the machines are shut down because gas pressure is below the normal level. Production at Excellent Ceramics has fallen to less than half because its furnace is out of operation.

Gopinath Kanjilal, assistant superintendent of police at the industrial police, told Prothom Alo that gas pressure began falling from the morning.

Factories normally operate from morning until 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm. Because of the low gas pressure, 20 companies—including Mahadi Sweaters Ltd, Sultana Sweaters, Liz Fashion, TM Textile, Trishal Textile and BSP Spinning Mills—sent their workers home around lunchtime.

When contacted by phone for comment, Mahadi Sweaters managing director Syed Ahmed hung up after the caller identified himself as a journalist. Attempts to contact the authorities at Sultana Sweaters and BSP Spinning Mills were unsuccessful.

Sohel Ahmed, manager of the utilities department at Glory Textile and Apparels in Bhaluka, said gas pressure had been low for the past one and a half to two months. The factory requires gas pressure of 15 PSI but is receiving only 11 to 12 PSI. As a result, production has fallen by 3 to 4 per cent.

Shamim Hossain, manager of system operations at the Bhaluka regional office of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, said gas is supplied to the Bhaluka area through two separate lines operating at 140 and 50 PSI, respectively. Currently, they are receiving gas at 30 to 50 PSI.

A group of people attacked and vandalised the PDB office in Ishwarganj municipal town, Mymensingh, after being left without electricity for nearly a week because of a damaged transformer.

Police arrived and brought the situation under control after the incident at around 11:00 am yesterday. The protesters left after being assured that a new transformer would be installed quickly and electricity supply restored.

According to eyewitnesses and several local residents, a transformer in Shimrail village of the municipal area broke down on the night of 13 August. Electricity supply to the village has been cut off ever since, leaving several thousand people in distress.

At around 11:00 am yesterday, 200 to 250 residents of the village went to the PDB office and began protesting. At one point, they vandalised the office’s glass windows, electrical equipment and drawers.

Local residents Sajib Mia and Nurul Haque alleged that Tk 50,000 had been paid to the PDB’s residential engineer on the promise that a new transformer would be provided. However, electricity supply had not been restored even after a week.

PDB sub-assistant engineer Rezaul Karim denied the allegation that Tk 50,000 had been taken. The official, who was injured in the attack, said the allegation was baseless. However, he said line workers are routinely given some expenses for line connection and repair work.

According to local residents, the transformer in the same village had also broken down about a month ago. At that time, an old transformer was provided instead of a new one. It broke down again after a few days. Residents said repeatedly providing old transformers has failed to provide a permanent solution.

Hamza Imam, residential engineer at PDB Ishwarganj, said the authorities had been informed several times about the damaged transformer in Shimrail village. However, he said the installation of a new transformer had been delayed because of a shortage of transformers.