A severe shortage of natural gas has disrupted industrial production in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka industrial zone, forcing 20 factories to send workers home before the end of Thursday’s shift.
Workers reported for duty as usual on Thursday morning, 20 August, but production could not continue normally because of critically low gas pressure. By lunchtime, employees at the affected factories were released in phases as managements struggled to keep production running.
Mohammad Ansar Uddin, superintendent of Industrial Police-5, said the gas crisis had intensified from the morning. Although workers had arrived at their workplaces, the lack of gas made normal operations impossible at 20 factories. Workers were therefore gradually sent home around lunchtime, while production at other industrial units was also severely affected.
Industrial police said the situation varied across the Bhaluka industrial area. Factories located around Bhaluka municipal area and near the Titas Gas office were receiving some gas pressure, while many factories farther away were receiving little or no gas. As a result, production at major factories across the industrial zone had fallen to an average of about 50 per cent of normal levels.
According to industrial police data, Mymensingh’s industrial belt has 293 factories, including 99 that depend on gas for production. Almost all of these gas-dependent factories are currently facing difficulties. Some manufacturers are attempting to keep a portion of their operations running with electricity and generators, but those alternatives are insufficient to meet their production requirements.
The textile and yarn manufacturing sectors have been among the worst affected. 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 Power Development Board.
At Seema Spinning Mills in Bhaluka, all 30 machines have been forced to stop. The company’s production has consequently fallen by around 50 per cent. Production has also declined by 50 per cent or more at Bashar Spinning, Nortex Textile and Delta Spinners.
Experience Textile has also been forced to keep 40 per cent of its machines idle because the gas pressure is insufficient. In the ceramics sector, Excellent Ceramics has been particularly affected after its furnace was shut down, pushing production below half of its normal level.
Gopinath Kanjilal, assistant superintendent of Industrial Police, said gas pressure began falling from Thursday morning. Factories in the area generally continue operations until around 5pm or 6pm, but the shortage meant that workers at 20 establishments, including Mahadi Sweaters Limited, Sultana Sweaters, Liz Fashion, TM Textile, Trishal Textile and BSP Spinning Mills, were sent home around lunchtime.
The crisis is not entirely new for some manufacturers. Sohel Ahmed, manager of the utility department at Glory Textiles and Apparels in Bhaluka, said the factory had been experiencing low gas pressure for around one and a half to two months.
The factory requires gas pressure of around 15 pounds per square inch (PSI) for normal operations, but has been receiving only 11 to 12 PSI. According to Ahmed, the lower pressure has reduced production by around 3 to 4 per cent.
Shamim Hossain, manager of system operations at the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company’s Bhaluka regional office in Mymensingh, attributed the pressure problem to reduced gas supply.
He said Bhaluka receives gas through two separate lines, operating at 140 PSI and 50 PSI respectively. At present, the area is receiving gas at between 30 and 50 PSI, making it impossible to provide supplies according to industrial demand.
The disruption is also affecting workers beyond the factory floor. Hafiza Akter, a worker at Experience Textile, said the reduction in production had resulted in fewer machines operating simultaneously and less work inside the factory. She also said that households in the area were facing gas shortages, disrupting cooking and other daily activities.
The situation highlights the vulnerability of gas-dependent industries to fluctuations in supply pressure. For factories that rely on continuous gas-powered machinery, boilers or furnaces, even a relatively modest reduction in pressure can interrupt production. Switching to electricity or generators may provide limited relief, but cannot necessarily operate every piece of equipment at the required capacity.
With 99 gas-dependent factories operating in the wider Mymensingh industrial zone, prolonged shortages could continue to affect production schedules and industrial activity if supply pressure does not return to normal. For the affected factories, restoring a stable and adequate gas supply remains the immediate priority.
