Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is providing “relief” to gas thieves by not disconnecting gas connections properly, sources in the company told Pakistan Today on Monday. They said every time the SNGPL found any house or area stealing gas the SNGPL officials only disconnected the gas pipe from the outside and welded it shut rather than disconnecting the gas from the base of the main supply line. As a result, after a few days, gas thieves reopened the pipe and started using gas again illegally.
Such gas theft is on the rise in all parts of the city including Green Town, Model Town, Wahdat Road, Faisal Town, Badamibagh, Baghbanpura and Shalimar. Some four months ago, the SNGPL team disconnected illegal connections in Zia Colony, Township, but after a few weeks, the locals bribed the SNGPL officials and managed to get the connections restored.
A company official seeking anonymity said that in many cases, the SNGPL employees were found helping the gas thieves. He said that it was not hard for the team to disconnect gas connections from the main pipeline but they did not do so.
He said: “In other words, the SNGPL is giving relief to the thieves by leaving the supply loosely disconnected. It also helps the SNGPL employees to take bribes and restore connections illegally.”
The official said SNGPL Managing Director (MD) Arif Hameed was taking action against gas thieves but he should also take notice of the ‘technical theft’.
The SNGPL is facing 12-14 percent line losses and gas theft is high in the company. The situation has improved since the last MD Rasheed Lone left, as the new MD has taken stern action against the thieves and defaulters and has recovered around Rs 2 billion from them, said an SNGPL employee.
