Gas Crisis Hits Rawalpindi: Families Forced Back to Firewood
Severe gas shortages and soaring LPG prices in Rawalpindi force residents to use firewood and coal for cooking as winter approaches.
A severe Pakistan gas crisis is pushing low- and middle-income households in Rawalpindi back to primitive cooking methods. As winter sets in, the combination of crippling natural gas shortages and the skyrocketing cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has left residents with little choice but to rely on firewood, coal, and kerosene oil to survive.
The Struggle for Basic Energy
For many families in Rawalpindi, the luxury of a working stove has become a rarity. Natural gas is reportedly available for barely six hours a day, distributed in three short intervals of two hours each. These outages are most severe during the night, with prolonged gaps in supply stretching from 9 pm until the early morning hours of Sehri.
The instability of the state-provided gas has triggered a desperate shift toward alternative fuels, creating a ripple effect across the local economy and environment.
Soaring Costs of Alternatives
While residents try to pivot to LPG cylinders, the prices have become prohibitively expensive for the average citizen. A new domestic cylinder now costs PKR 13,500, up from the previous price of PKR 10,000. Even the cost of refilling a cylinder has jumped from PKR 3,000 to PKR 5,000.
The situation is even more dire for businesses. Commercial cylinder refills have nearly doubled, soaring to PKR 25,000 from a range of PKR 12,500 to PKR 14,000 last year.
The Market for Firewood and Coal
With LPG out of reach, the demand for traditional fuels has surged, driving up their prices:
- Dry Firewood: Preferred for its higher heat and lower smoke, it now costs between PKR 1,500 and PKR 1,800 per maund.
- Ordinary Firewood: Available at PKR 1,300 to PKR 1,400 per maund.
- Coal: Selling between PKR 800 and PKR 1,000 per maund, depending on quality.
- Sawdust: Prices have climbed to PKR 700 per maund.
Desperate Measures and Environmental Impact
The desperation has led to an increase in timber theft from both private and public forests to meet the rising demand for firewood. In the city, residents have begun scavenging for any combustible material they can find.
Muhammad Faizan, a furniture factory owner, noted a stark change in local behavior: waste wood and sawdust, which were previously dumped into Nullah Lai, are now being meticulously collected by residents to use as cooking fuel.
Impact on Government Employees
The crisis is not limited to the poorest of the poor. Shehzad Manzoor Kiyani, the divisional president of the All-Pakistan Clerks Association, highlighted that even government employees are feeling the pinch. He stated that the combination of rampant inflation and unreliable gas supplies has forced these workers to return to using coal and firewood.
According to Kiyani, monthly expenditures on LPG alone have reached between PKR 10,000 and PKR 12,000, placing an immense financial burden on households already struggling with the cost of living.