When Taslima Keya rented a flat in Demra a few months ago she thought she struck a good deal as the house had gas connection.

It did not take long for her to realize that she made a mistake.

“True we have the gas connection, but most time of the day the line remains dry,” said Keya, a homemaker.

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At Keya’s flat the natural fuel, supplied by Titas Gas, is available only after 1:30 pm which disrupts cooking her breakfast and lunch. Also, she faces trouble in preparing the dinner as the gas pressure goes down in the evening.

“This on-again off-again supply of gas has made our living in this area difficult,” said Keya, who is thinking of moving to a new location. The erratic supply of the cooking fuel has severely affected her daily routine. “What we are doing now is cooking all day’s meals at one go when the supply is available,” she said.

Another housewife Ayesha Islam Jharna, who lives in an adjoining area of Demra, has even a grimmer story to tell.  

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According to Jharna the gas supply goes out at 8 am and usually does not get back until 6 pm in her house and in the neighbourhood. “This gas misery is really forcing us to think about leaving this area. But we have to think twice as house rent in other areas is expensive and we can’t afford it,” she added.

She said, “If this situation goes on for long, it will really force us to change our time to cook. Cooking late in the night every day is really affecting my health. Children too complain of getting food late.”

“It is not possible to bring food from the hotels or restaurants every day. This is not only expensive but also unhygienic for us. We wonder how long the suffering will continue,”    

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Another housewife, Alifa Barsha, a resident of Ward 66, said, "We pay the bill for this fixed connection, but don’t get the supply.”

 “There is no point in complaining. Our public representatives are also pretending not to see all this. At least I don't see any effort on their part to solve this problem,” she said.

 Residents of Demra and adjacent areas cheered when their areas were included in Dhaka South City Corporation. But this change has done little to improve the utility services in the areas. Disrupted  gas supply has been a common woe for the residents.  

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The situation is the same in the newly added Shyampur, Matuail, Demra, Dania, Sarulia, Dakkhingaon, Nasirabad, and Manda in Dhaka South Corporation (DSCC). But Demra and adjacent areas are the hardest-hit areas.  

Visiting these areas and talking to the land owners and tenants, UNB found that there is an acute gas crisis in every house. Even when the supply returns the pressure remains low, taking longer time to cook food.

According to locals not long ago the supply disruptions occurred only during the winter. But the supply is getting erratic even during the summer too. Now there is almost no gas pressure in most parts of Demra from morning to afternoon throughout the year. As a result, housewives are forced to finish cooking at night or in the early hours of the morning.

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Residents of Konapara, Shahjalal Road, Dogai Bank Colony, Madinabagh, Basherpool, Barabhanga, Green City, Momenbagh, Al Amin Road, Bamail Colony, Bakranagar, Hijlatala, Khandaker Road, East Housing Dagai and other areas of Demra are worst sufferers.

 Shaon Rahman, a resident of Konapara, said, "I am planning to shift from this area due to gas problem. Gas supply goes out at 8 and does not resume before 6pm. Sometimes it takes longer.”

The situation is no different at Konapara Shahjalal Road of Ward 64 where gas goes out from 8 am and resumes at afternoon. Sometimes it goes out at 7 pm and resumes at 10 pm.

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 Sadia, a resident of DSCC's 66th ward, said there was no gas in Bakultala, East Boxnagar, from 8 am to 2 pm. “So I’ve no option but to finish cooking at night,” she said.

 House owners are feeling the pinch too. They face difficulties in getting new tenants just because of the gas supply problem. This is also forcing them to rent out their houses at rates lower than the areas with smooth gas supply.

The alternative to piped cooking fuel is cylinder gas which digs deep into the pockets of the residents living in these middle-and-lower-middle class areas.  

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An official of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company admitted that there are problems in the supply. But he did not have any early solution.

Tikatuli Zone DGM Md. Nasimul Haque (Marketing) said that complaints regarding gas shortage have been coming from different areas of the capital for the past few days. The gas problem in Demra area is a little more acute than in other areas.

“We are trying our best to solve this problem so that our customers can get gas properly. We will limit the use of gas for households so all can use it proportionately,” he said.

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He also said that households in some city areas including Demra are having supply shortage mainly due to the dearth of LNG supply to gas distribution companies too.

Shyampur, Dania, Matuail, Sarulia, Demra, Manda, Dakshingaon and Nasirabad unions were added to the city corporation as new wards in recent delimitation of the wards.