& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

'A realm of unbridled robbery'

Speakers say govt turning country dependent on imported gas

Staff Correspondent
To establish a "realm of unbridled robbery", the ruling party is gradually turning the country dependent on imported gas, though there is enough natural gas in the fields of the country, speakers yesterday said.
Saying that the dependency on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will further increase the living cost and benefit only some businessmen and ruling party men, they called upon people to create a mass movement for stopping patronisation ofLPG and LNG.
They were speaking at a meeting, titled "Evaluation of Increase of Price of Gas and Power, Anti-National Master Plan and Dependency on LNG”, at Dhaka’s Mukti Bhaban.
Ruhin Hossain Prince, a central leader of Communist Party of Bangladesh, said, "I'm accusing the government for not exploring gas fields where enough natural gas is stored, and turning the sector into an import-based one to establish a realm of unbridled robbery."
"We'll have to save the sector from these plunderers," he said.
Ruhin alleged that the government is charging city dwellers higher prices against their household consumption. "We've analysed and found that people consume less gas for households than they are
charged. And if we add the persistent crisis of natural gas in the supply line, we'll see people are being charged double for household consumption," he added.
Anu Muhammad, member secretary of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, said, "To facilitate local and foreign companies, the government is promoting the use of LPG and LNG."
Due to the irregularities and corruption of the government in the energy sector, living cost will gradually go up, he said, suggesting that the government should explore the existing gas fields in the country to cope with the demands instead of relying on LPG and LNG.
Moshahida Sultana, Associate Professor at Department of Accounting and Information Systems, Dhaka University, gave a presentation on the overall gas sector.
She said the government shows daily deficiency of gas 100 cr eft. "But study shows the gas-based power plant alone wastes about 60 cr eft gas daily, "she added.
Mentioning that the pressure of LPG is less than the gas supplied in pipeline, she said the price ofLPG is several times higher than natural gas.
The ship carrying the first consignment of LNG anchored in the Bay of Bengal a few months ago and its supply to the national grid is supposed to begin soon.