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Open trade with illegal gas lines

Ruling party men involved

Shaheen Mollah and Md Fazlur Rahman
Around 20,000 households are consuming gas illegally in four upazilas of Narayanganj, thanks to the local Awami League leaders and contractors who joined hands to provide the connections stretching over 100 kilometres.
During a visit to Sonargaon and Rupganj upazilas on Thursday, distribution lines were found installed to steal gas from theTitas Gas. Some lines were seen hanging dangerously overhead.
These connections have not only deprived the government of huge revenue income and the legal users of adequate gas. They also pose a threat to the households and the locals, as the quality and the laying of the distribution lines fall way short of the standard.
The two upazilas are under the regional marketing office of Titas Gas in Jatramora, which also oversees the state-run company's activities in three other upazilas in Narayanganj namely, Sonargaon, Araihazarand Bandar, and Gozaria upazila ofMunshiganj.
Locals said households irrespective of their political leanings got the connections ahead of the January 5 elections. In Mongoler Gaon village under Sonargaon upazila, about 200 households obtained the connections forTk 35,000-45,000 each.
In Doriakandi village under the same upazila, the contractors, their associates and local politicians tookTk 40,000-45,000 for each line.
One woman in Bandar upazila claimed she gave Tk 80,000 for her connection three months ago. None was given any receipts.
Asked why they were giving so much money for illegal connections, villagers said the local AL leaders and contractors told them that the lines would be legalised soon. Others said getting the legal connection from Titas takes months - a fact Titas officials readily admit.
However, the "subscribers' are not paying any monthly bill. The AL leaders and contractors told them that the bills would have to be paid to Titas once the lines are legalised.
Late last year, the government legalised nearly 1 lakh illegal gas lines that had been obtained after the government stopped giving new connections in mid-2010. This emboldened the wrongdoers.
At present, the daily gas supply in the country is 2,250 million cubic feet, with a daily shortfall of around 500 mmcf. The restriction on new connection was imposed due to this shortage.
Villagers in Pirojpur union said the gas connections were part of the electoral pledges of both the AL and the BNP over the last 15 years.
They said Rezaul Karim, former state
minister for liberation war affairs, had promised gas connections during the BNP government rule in 2001-2006. Local AL lawmaker Abdullah Al-Kaiser had made the same pledge after being elected in 2008.
According to them, the local AL leaders started making a fortune through giving these illegal connections during the political turmoil in October-December last year, when all attention was on the looming political uncertainty.
Some villagers said they took the illegal lines as the AL leaders and contractors told them that if they missed the chance, they might not get the connection anytime soon.
There are allegations that some Titas officials, local administration, and police also make some quick bucks from the illegal trade. But The Daily Star could not verify the claim.
Titas officials hold the local politicians and contractors fully responsible for the dangerous and illegal business.
Syed Mojibur Rahman, a member of Pirojpur union, is alleged to have played a big role in this.
Talking to this newspaper, he admitted playing some roles but denied taking any money. "As a local
representative, I do want that people get gas connections. The government should legalise them."
Mozammel Hossain, vice-president of union fubo League, said the connections came some way or the other. “The government should now regularise them."
When the Titas authorities came to know about the illegal connections a few months ago, they sent several teams to disconnect the lines. But they had to go back in the face of strong resistance from locals. Locals even harassed and assaulted the officials on several occasions.
■Recently, we disconnected a number of lines in a village in the presence of a magistrate. The villagers got so furious that they encircled us and we had to reinstate the connections before we were allowed to leave the area," said a Titas Gas official, on condition of anonymity.
Last September, locals beat up Titas officials when they went there to disconnect the lines. A general manager of Titas had to be hospitalised for 10 days recently after one such attack.
The regional office of Titas has provided about 850 household connections since May last year, with about
17,000 applications under process. It serves 40,000 households, 132 commercial establishments and 378 factories.
Its officials said the issue of clandestine connections was reported in the media but no action had been taken.
Manoj Kanti Boral, deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, said it was for the Titas to disconnect the lines. "But we will provide security ifTitas wants."
A top government official in Dhaka said the situation worsened as the administration did not act timely. "It will not be easy to solve this, as many quarters are involved."
Explaining the contractors' role, Petrobangla Chairman Prof Hossain Mansur said the local politicians enlisted some former contractors, who have expertise, to help them out in the lucrative business.
There are about 200km illegal lines (including those in Narayanganj) taken fromTitas, he said, adding: "In the past, we disconnected some lines, only to find later that those were reconnected."
He also spoke of the grave danger of such connections, given the poor quality of the distribution lines.
Already, some accidents have
happened in the area. In one accident, a gas riser exploded in Paragaon village in Rupganj, spreading panic among the villagers. The situation was brought under control by switching off the riser.
Asked about the alleged involvement of some Titas officials, Mansur said: "I am not saying that Titas officials are not involved here. But we do not have any proof and nobody filed any complaints against any Titas officials."
He alleged that police at times refused to take cases against those involved in setting up the lines.' People came out of jail even if some were arrested."
The Petrobangla chief, however, warned of taking stem action against those involved and vowed to bring the situation under control. "We will use the existing laws that allow the magistrates to punish the wrongdoers."
Meanwhile, police, with the help of Titas office in Manikganj, yesterday arrested three people in Dhamrai for their alleged involvement in installing illegal gas distribution lines.
They were sent to jail, said Titas Gas Spokesperson M Shahjahan, adding that their officials disconnected 200 feet of illegal lines there.