Illegal gas lines installed at night under Titas employees’ watch

While the acute energy crisis has caused suffering for mills, industries and households across the country, several illegal gas line connections have reportedly been installed under the promise of “uninterrupted gas supply for 24 hours.”

The illegal lines were allegedly installed after collecting Tk 50,000 from each landlord (house owner). They were set up in the presence of Titas Gas employee Sabuj Hossain, while his associate contractor Jahangir Hossain installed the pipelines at several houses in the Sutirkhal and Bibir Bagicha areas of Jatrabari.

Locals expressed concern that the little gas supply remaining could completely disappear due to the installation of these illegal pipelines.

Talking to locals and affected house owners, it was learned that a strong illegal gas connection syndicate had been formed in the Sutirkhal and Bibir Bagicha areas under the leadership of Titas employee Sabuj Hossain and locally influential Jahangir Hossain.

They allegedly took advantage of the ongoing gas crisis and collected huge sums of money by promising uninterrupted gas supply for 24 hours.

Jahangir Hossain was reportedly responsible for the Sutirkhal area, while Sabuj was responsible for the Bibir Bagicha area for this purpose.

Several eyewitnesses and house owners told Asia Post that workers of Titas contractor Jahangir Hossain were seen installing illegal gas connection pipelines in the Sabuj Chhaya School and Makkah Building areas of Bibir Bagicha on Wednesday (19 August) and Thursday (20 August) nights.

They said several journalists arrived there at around 9:00pm, while Sabuj allegedly tried to manage them by offering money from his own pocket. Asia Post has obtained video footage of the incident.

An investigation also found that Jahangir had collected Tk 50,000 each from more than 100 house owners in Sutirkhal and Bibir Bagicha, while Sabuj took responsibility for “managing” the Titas office.

A resident of Bibir Bagicha Road No. 2, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We were not getting an adequate gas supply, so we were compelled to give money.”

When contacted, Sabuj Hossain told Asia Post, “I work for Titas, but I am not involved in these activities. Jahangir did these things. He is a Titas contractor. He provided these illegal connections to the house owners through his own workers.”

“Jahangir did everything, from collecting money to connecting the illegal gas lines,” Sabuj said.

Asked about the allegation that he offered money to journalists, Sabuj said, “It is true that I went there after the journalists arrived because my residence is also in the area. I asked them to look into the matter.”

“I also told the house owners that these were illegal connections. If the office cuts these lines after several days, they should not blame me,” he said.

When asked why he did not stop the work although he was present during the installation of the illegal connections, Sabuj said, “The local Social Welfare Committee, local MP and the ruling party’s student wing Chhatra Dal president all knew about the issue. How could I stop it alone?”

Contacted, Jahangir Hossain admitted that he had taken the money, saying, “I work on installing gas lines. The price of the pipe is Tk 21 per foot, besides the labour costs. How can I do this without taking money?”

Asked about the illegal connections, Jahangir said, “I have not provided new connections. They had 30-year-old pipes that were leaking in several places, and they were not getting an adequate gas supply for this reason.”

“In that situation, I only installed new pipelines at the request of the house owners. Everyone in the locality knew about it. You guys please come, meet us and stay in contact,” he said.

When contacted, Hasan Ahmed, Director General of the Titas Gas Administrative Department, told Asia Post, “No one has made such allegations to us. If we receive any specific official allegation, we will take stern action against the responsible persons following a proper investigation.”

“Even if anyone from our office is found involved in such a matter, we will take tough departmental punitive action,” the DG said.