Gas supply to Punjab resumes after repair work

RAHIM YAR KHAN: Gas supply to major areas of Punjab province resumed after the 36 inch diameter pipeline was repaired, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) sources, domestic consumers witnessed improved gas pressure after the gas pipeline of 36 inch diameter was repaired by the authority.

However, it is pertinent to mention that gas supply to commercial and industrial zone is still suspended. SNGPL officials said it will take 24 to 36 hours for the remaining repair work to be completed and supply to resume to commercial and industrial zones.

Moreover, two committees have been formed to estimate the loss incurred due to the bombings that damaged three main gas supply pipelines in Rahim Yar Khan.

On Sunday night, a huge blaze broke out after a banned militant outfit bombed three main gas pipelines in Rahim Yar Khan that killed one woman.

"In a major terror hit, Baloch Republican Army (BLA) blew up three major gas arteries late on Sunday night in Yousafabad area, which sparked so big a fire that it engulfed the populated area located nearby", officials said.

Reports stated that remote-controlled devices were used in the explosions which destroyed three out of the four pipelines within 30 minutes.

According to sources, the pipelines, carrying highly inflammable methane also called natural gas, burst into a massive ball of fire after the blasts.

The blasts triggered an inferno that covered the nearby fields, while Basti Afzal Hamid Khumbara was evacuated immediately, the sources added.

A woman was killed in the blaze while many head of cattle were also injured.

The outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the explosions at the point supplying gas to Punjab from Sui, Qadirpur Sawan, Pir Koh and Loti gas fields.

Arif Hamid Khan, Managing Director of SNGPL, said the three bombed pipelines were of 24, 18 and 16 inches diameter which supplied natural gas to Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur, Lahore and Faisalabad.

The attack reduced gas supply to the system by 700 million cubic metres.

Some parts of Punjab were not receiving gas after the blasts, while the SNGPL suspended gas supply to the CNG sector and industries across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as an emergency step to tackle the crisis.