FC may be deployed to protect Karak's gas installations

The government is likely to deploy Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel to guard the infrastructure of natural gas in district Karak and help arrest gas losses in the high deficit areas of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL). Talking to this scribe, General Manager (GM) SNGPL, Peshawar region, Saqib Arbab told that he had already held a meeting with the Commandant, Frontier Constabulary (FC) in this regard.
He said that both federal and provincial governments have assured cooperation in this regard. He said that the damaged pipelines will also be replaced. He said that local elected public representatives will also support the company in the provision of connection and other services to the gas consumers of the district. The GM SNGPL said that as the southern districts are producing 400MMCFD natural gas and over 50,000 litres of crude oil per-day, due to which the people claim right over it. However, he said that gas theft has no constitutional or legal justification.
He said that the SNGPL has laid 759 kilometers infrastructure and there is also no moratorium on gas connections in the gas producing area. He said that the arrest of the gas theft can bring the losses of the company in the province to a single digit. The GM SNGPL said that the provincial government had already provided funds for gas provision to district Hangu while funds for district Karak have also been assured. He said that the decline in SNGPL losses in Karak will usher positive impact on the economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
To a question, he told that the whole system including billing is completely computerized and consumers are being provided 24 hours customer services and each telephone call is registered. He said that international standard Oracle software with all concerned record has been installed by the company and 95 percent complaints are addressed within a period of 24 hours and some are resolved on the spot.
Regarding gas theft, he said that four years back it was 33.8 percent, but now it has come down to 11 percent at provincial and 13 percent at regional level, which is a big achievement. Similarly, he said that the company has registered more than 1500 FIRs against gas thieves due to which no one can dare to use illegal gas. The company is registering 5 to 6 FIRs of gas theft on daily basis.
He said that in past, the company was giving only 25000 to 30,000 connections in a year while last year alone it had provided 1,20,000 gas connections. The connection system is completely computerized and provided on first come, first serve basis.