Severe Gas Crisis Disrupts Production and Forces Factory Closures in Mymensingh

A severe gas crisis has severely disrupted production and forced factory closures across the industrial region of Mymensingh on August 20. According to official figures, the local industrial belt comprises a total of 293 industrial factories, out of which 99 heavily rely on gas for their day-to-day operations. The sudden and intense drop in gas pressure has crippled various sectors, particularly impacting textile and spinning mills where uninterrupted power and fuel supply are vital for maintaining full operational capacity.

Detailing the immediate impact on the workforce, Industrial Police-5 Superintendent Md. Ansar Uddin stated that the gas crisis took a sharp turn for the worse from the morning hours. Although workers arrived at the factories as per their regular schedules, the critically low gas pressure made continuous operations impossible. Consequently, authorities were compelled to grant leave in phases to workers across 20 factories up to the lunchtime break, while operations in the remaining establishments faced extreme disruption.

Elaborating on the timeline of the closures, Gopinath Kanjilal noted that the low pressure began manifesting seriously on Thursday morning, disrupting factories that typically operate until 6:00 PM. Due to this inadequate supply during the midday hours, approximately 20 institutions—including Mahadi Sweaters Limited, Sultana Sweaters, Leez Fashion, TM Textile, Trishal Textile, and BSP Spinning Mill—opted to send their workers home early. Factory floor workers, such as Hafiza Akhter, voiced their concerns, explaining that the gas shortage has drastically reduced operational capabilities and prevented all machinery from running simultaneously.

Specific factory data highlights the crippling scale of the crisis across different units in the region. At Toyo Spinning Mills located in Gouripur, 43 out of 50 machines had to be kept shut down, leaving a mere seven machines operational by utilizing electricity from the Power Development Board (PDB). Similarly, at Sima Spinning Mills in Bhaluka, 30 machines were completely shut down, plunging overall production by roughly 50 percent. Meanwhile, Experience Textiles reported that 40 percent of its machinery had become completely inoperative due to the prevailing energy shortages.

Addressing the technical aspects of the shortage, Sohel Ahmed explained that low pressure has persisted over the past month and a half to two months. He pointed out that while the factory requires a stable gas pressure of 15 PSI, the actual supply fluctuates between a meager 11 and 12 PSI, resulting in a production decline of approximately 3 to 4 percent. Providing further context from the supply side, Shamim Hossain and Syed Ahmed explained that gas is ordinarily supplied to the Bhaluka area through two separate lines carrying 140 PSI and 50 PSI respectively. However, due to dwindling overall distributions, current readings show that receiving facilities are only getting between 30 and 50 PSI, directly causing the widespread pressure drops affecting Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company lines and the dependent industries.