Households face 18-20 hours of daily gas outages; families, eateries and caterers turn to wood, coal
RAWALPINDI:
Prolonged gas load management, with supplies available for only six hours a day, coupled with a sharp increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, has forced low- and middle-income households in Rawalpindi to return to firewood and coal for cooking as winter sets in.
Firewood, coal and kerosene oil are increasingly being used as fuels by middle- and low-income families, roadside eateries and small tandoors. The growing demand for firewood has also reportedly contributed to a significant increase in the theft of timber from public and private forests. Meanwhile, the prices of firewood and coal have risen sharply with the onset of winter.
In the open market, coal is selling for between Rs800 and Rs1,000 per maund. Low-smoke coal that produces a good flame costs Rs1,000 per maund, while the variety producing less heat and smoke is available for Rs800. Dry firewood, which produces less smoke and provides greater heat, is priced between Rs1,500 and Rs1,800 per maund, while ordinary firewood costs between Rs1,300 and Rs1,400. Sawdust has also reached Rs700 per maund
Sui gas supplies are being restricted to three daily intervals of two hours each, while uninterrupted outages from 9pm until Sehri have become routine. As a result, traders, large shopkeepers and affluent families have increasingly turned to gas cylinders, pushing up demand and prompting a further rise in cylinder prices.
The price of a new, empty domestic gas cylinder has increased from Rs10,000 to Rs13,500, while used cylinders are available for between Rs8,000 and Rs10,000. The cost of refilling a domestic cylinder has risen from Rs3,000 to Rs5,000.
Commercial gas cylinder refills, which cost between Rs12,500 and Rs14,000 a year ago, have now reached as much as Rs25,000, placing an additional burden on businesses.
With gas load management extending to 18-20 hours a day across the city, roadside eateries, small tandoors, hotels and bakeries have begun using firewood instead of gas. Residents and tandoor owners are also visiting furniture markets to purchase discarded wooden pieces and sawdust at lower prices.
Furniture factory owner Muhammad Faizan said that, previously, discarded wooden pieces and sawdust had been disposed of in Nullah Lai. However, the situation had changed as residents now collected the waste for use as fuel.
“We used to dispose of these wooden pieces and sawdust in Nullah Leh. Now, people come to our factory in the evening, clean the premises themselves and take the waste away,” he said.
Divisional president of the All Pakistan Clerks Association, Shehzad Manzoor Kiyani, said rising inflation had brought back the era of firewood and coal. He said clerical and lower-grade government employees had reported that gas supplies were no longer reliable and monthly LPG expenses had reached Rs10,00012,000, forcing them to switch to firewood.
Teachers’ leaders Basharat Iqbal Raja and Shafiq Bhalwalia said crippling inflation had compelled households to use gas cylinders for emergency cooking and making tea for guests during the day, while relying on firewood to prepare the evening meal.
