A severe compressed natural gas (CNG) crisis has severely disrupted daily life and public transport services in Chattogram, forcing commercial drivers to spend the majority of their working hours in excruciatingly long queues at filling stations. The acute shortage has drastically curtailed driver earnings, diminished the availability of public conveyances, and triggered widespread hardship for thousands of commuters across the port city.
For auto-rickshaw driver Abu Taher, routine daily operations have unravelled over recent days. Arriving at the Paharika CNG Filling Station in the city’s Akbar Shah area at 4:00 am, Mr Taher had already spent five exhausting hours waiting in line by mid-morning, having passed the preceding night sleeping inside his vehicle. Under normal circumstances, drivers like Mr Taher operate their auto-rickshaws for 10 to 12 hours daily, earning enough to pay the mandatory daily rental fee to vehicle owners while securing a modest profit for family expenses. Currently, with upwards of five to eight hours lost in queues, drivers are struggling to generate even a fraction of their standard income.
The cascading impact is felt across all gas-dependent transport sectors, including mini-buses, microbuses, and private hiring vehicles. At prominent refuelling facilities across Chattogram—such as the Fossil station in Sholashahar and outlets in Pahartali—queues extend for several kilometres. Drivers report that refuelling, which previously took between 20 and 30 minutes, now consumes the better part of a day. Mohammad Abul Kashem, another local driver, recounted spending eight hours in line to obtain gas, only for the supply to deplete after just two hours of driving. Similarly, Md Nahid, a mini-bus driver operating the Chattogram–Fatehabad route, noted that his typical daily revenue of 1,500 to 2,000 BDT plummeted to a mere 600 BDT due to extended waiting times and limited gas allocations. Consequently, many drivers are accumulating personal debt or demanding higher fares from commuters to cover operational deficits.
The root cause of this acute disruption stems from an outbreak of fire on 21 July at Excelerate Energy’s Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU)—a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal situated off the coast of Maheshkhali. The incident led to an immediate and significant reduction in natural gas feed into the national grid, severely constraining supply pipelines throughout eastern Bangladesh.
According to figures from the Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL), the distributor received just 190 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas against a normal daily demand of approximately 350 mmcfd. This leaves the regional utility operating with a massive deficit of roughly 160 mmcfd. Under standard operational conditions, KGDCL requires around 150 mmcfd for power plants, 90 mmcfd for industrial facilities, 60 mmcfd for residential customers, and 50 mmcfd for the CNG sector. To cope with the shortfall, pressure has been systematically reduced across all sectors, leaving CNG stations operating at low pressure and incapable of satisfying vehicle demand.
An official from KGDCL, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that distribution is being strictly rationed in accordance with allocations dictated by Petrobangla. Specialized technical teams are presently undertaking emergency repair works on the damaged Maheshkhali floating terminal. Utility authorities anticipate that gas supply to the national grid will gradually normalize once the terminal resumes full operation, with initial stabilization hoped for by the end of the week. Until then, commuters and transport workers in Chattogram continue to face significant financial strain and operational turmoil.
