The grisly fire accident at a mosque in Narayanganj has once again exposed the threat that illegal gas connection poses to public life.
It is disgracing to learn that leakages in gas pipelines are responsible for one-third of fire accidents occurring in and around the capital. Reportedly, more than 1,000 fire accidents have happened due to gas leakage in the past year.
Whenever any accident occurs, the gravity of this issue gets intensified. After every deadly incident associated with illegal gas lines or leakage in gas pipes, we hear pledges from the authorities concerned that effective measures will be taken. But all fade away with the passage of time, which is why the number of accidents is increasing at an alarming rate.
We have come to know that most of the gas pipelines in and around Dhaka are 35-40 years old and almost dilapidated. The government should take initiatives to address this problem in no time.
Titas, the largest gas supplier in the country, supplies gas to more than 3 million residences in and around Dhaka. Reportedly, there are 2,00,000 illegal gas connections in areas covered by Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited.
Authorities concerned should take necessary steps to
identity those corrupt officials involved in providing
illegal gas connections and bring them to book
There is no denying that Titas officials do conduct drives to sever the illegal gas lines, but the problem is that there are unscrupulous people within the gas company who are involved in providing illegal gas connections.
Allegations of corruption against most of the officials and employees from the top to bottom of the company are rife. Allegations are also there that a section of officials and employees of Titas has become multi-millionaire providing illegal gas connections during the last five years.
The state-owned gas company does not get any bills against these illegal gas lines. The corrupt officials who provided illegal connections collect the payment. Thus a service system has expanded which is not only illegal but also accountable for the loss of huge amount of revenue.
As a result, the government is missing a huge amount of revenue from this sector. The authorities concerned including Titas Gas cannot deny their liabilities for this disorder.
Considering all the afore-mentioned points, drives must be conducted regularly to disconnect the illegal gas lines. Also authorities concerned should take necessary steps to identity those corrupt officials involved in providing illegal gas lines and bring them to book.
Titas should take lesson from the latest fire incident that happened in Narayanganj and we believe that this mishap will provide them an excellent opportunity to undergo com prehensive reforms.