Titas eats up Tk 320 cr a year thru’ illegal links

Golam Mostafa Jibon: Titas Gas incurs a loss of Tk 320 crore annually due to massive irregularities and illegal connections. As a result, theconsumers are forced to bear the load of additional billsfor the whole year.
According to the sources, the system loss of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company was about 2 percent last year. In terms of money, it was around Tk 320 crore, which was shown as an annual loss by the company. The main reason behind this loss is illegal connection and unbridled anomalies of the authorities concerned.
Unscrupulous officials and employees of the organization are directly and indirectly involved with the providing illegal gas connections.
According to a statistic of Titas, the sale of Titas gas was around Tk 16,000 crore in the fiscal year 2020-21. But this amount is Tk 320 crore less than the price of the amount of gas they have distributed. This is what the Titas system looks like as a loss.
While asked about system loss, Harunur Rashid Mollah, managing director of Titas Gas (MD) said, “The main reason behind the loss was illegal gas connections. That is why, the system loss is not decreasing. Once it is turned off, the system loss will be reduced.”
He further said, “This time we have taken it as a challenge. There will be no illegal gas connections in the area covered by Titas.” Titas has no idea how many illegal connections has been provided by Titas in the surrounding districts including the capital city Dhaka. Illegal connections are not uncommon in other districts under Titas. Illegal gas disconnection campaigns continue year after year. But a few days later, a section of unscrupulous officials of the Titasstart providingillegal connections in exchange of money.
According to the concerned sources, fire incidents have now become a regular phenomenon due to use of below standard equipments in the gas pipelines of different residents and commercial points. Even use of poor-quality stoves and other equipments in the lines has caused of frequent blasts.
Fire Service and the Civil Defense Department, one-third of all fire accidents in the capital are caused by gas pipeline leaks. Titas Gas operates in greater Dhaka and Mymensingh areas. The company has 12,253 kilometers of pipeline. Of them, Dhaka has seven thousand kilometers. Hundreds of thousands of illegal connections have been made to this three-or-four-decade-old network. Titas’s distribution system is believed to have about 200 kilometers of illegal lines.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid recently posted on his Facebook page, “If anyone thinks that he or she will get relief even after using illegal gas link, he is in wrong perception. Titas Gas Authority will be in a tougher position to save the people’s wealth at any cost.”
But in practical, there is no implementation of his commitment, locals said.