The gas crisis gripping the country worsened on Friday, with kilometre-long queues at CNG filling stations and household stoves running cold as a major technical fault at a floating LNG terminal off Cox’s Bazar remained unresolved for the fourth consecutive day.

The disruption, traced to a ship-to-ship LNG transfer mishap on July 21, has slashed grid supply by around 450 million cubic feet per day, leaving the country able to meet only 57 per cent of total gas demand.

The impact was most visible at CNG filling stations. In Dhaka’s Gabtoli and Kalyanpur areas, queues of auto-rickshaws and buses stretched two to five kilometres, snarling traffic for hours.

Drivers said that they had waited more than eight to 10 hours, in many cases only to find pumps shut with ‘No Gas’ signs posted.

‘We have been waiting for hours but still cannot get gas. I don’t know how I will support my family. I have never experienced such a situation before,’ said Ruhul Amin, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver waiting in a queue at Purbachal Traders CNG filling station in Paribagh.

Mojammel, a ride-sharing driver, said that he was spending most of his working hours waiting at filling stations instead of carrying passengers.

‘No gas means no income. I still have to pay the daily vehicle deposit and installments. We are sitting idle at the pumps while losing passengers and earnings,’ he said.

Abdus Shakur Chowdhury, owner of Pinnacle Filling Station at the capital’s Kuril, told New Age that his outlet remained fully shut for 72 hours.

‘For the last three days my CNG filling station received no gas supply at all,’ he added.

Farhan Noor, secretary general of the CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association, said that the crisis had become catastrophic for station owners.

According to him, most outlets are now receiving gas at a pressure of just 0 to 2 pounds per square inch, far below the minimum 15 PSI required under their supply contracts, making it impossible to operate compression machines.

He said that nearly 500 stations had been affected, with many forced to shut down completely, while owners continued to incur high electricity costs by running high-capacity motors to maintain what little gas pressure remained, despite having virtually no sales.

As one of the country’s two floating storage and regasification units has remained out of operation for the fourth consecutive day, the national gas supply has fallen to 2,170 mmcfd from 2,620 mmcfd against a demand of 3,800 mmcfd, according to the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation.

Petrobangla sources said that even after the technical fault at the FSRU terminal operated by US-backed Excelerate Energy was resolved, gas supply would be restored gradually rather than all at once to ensure system stability.

‘The fault has been identified in the reboiler unit. A team is now assessing the spare parts and materials needed for the repair, and work has already started,’ said Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited general manager (LNG) Md Shafiqul Islam.

‘Excelerate Energy is expected to officially inform on Friday night about the estimated time required to complete the repairs,’ he added.

The shortage has also hit homes hard. Residents of Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Kathalbagan, Eskaton, Dhanmondi and Jatrabari reported near-zero gas pressure during peak cooking hours, forcing many households onto electric cookers or restaurant meals for days.

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, which has more than 27 lakh residential customers along with industries, power plants and CNG stations issued a press statement on Tuesday seeking apology over low gas pressure.

Industrial output has also suffered, with the 17 per cent supply cut hampering factory production and contributing to increased load-shedding as electricity generation is squeezed as well.