A scheduled 14-hour gas outage extended into a grueling 26-hour blackout for residents and businesses across Brahmanbaria, leaving more than 23,000 domestic and commercial customers without supply. The disruption, initially slated to end on Tuesday night, dragged on until Wednesday morning, crippling daily routines and sparking widespread anger throughout Brahmanbaria town, Sadar, and Sarail upazilas.
State-run Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (BGDCL) had issued a notice on Monday afternoon announcing a planned suspension from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm on Tuesday for urgent pipeline maintenance. Despite assurances that supply would resume by mid-evening, gas pressure returned only after 10:00 am on Wednesday.
The breakdown in the official timeline hit domestic households hardest. Relying on the promised 10:00 pm restoration, most families made no alternative cooking arrangements. Nightfall came and went without a flare from kitchen stoves. By Wednesday morning, local eateries were overwhelmed by frantic crowds, leaving many residents unable to purchase basic meals. Chakiya Begum, a college lecturer from Pathanpara in Sarail, waited up late into Tuesday night hoping to cook for her family. With local diners completely sold out of breakfast the next morning, she was forced to start her workday on a meal of dry flattened rice. She noted that an advance warning regarding the extended delay would have allowed households to prepare properly.
Commercial enterprises and public transit operators suffered equal strain. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) auto-rickshaw drivers lined up for hours at regional filling stations, only to return home empty-handed. Sabbir Miah, a local auto-rickshaw driver, joined a station queue at 8:00 pm on Tuesday. After waiting fruitlessly in the dark until 1:00 am, he abandoned his spot. By the time pumps reopened late Wednesday morning, massive traffic gridlocks had formed at every facility, threatening another day of lost fares. For daily-wage drivers, the two-day disruption wiped out essential household earnings.
Addressing the delay, Md. Shafiqul Haq, Deputy General Manager and Regional Head of BGDCL’s Brahmanbaria office, cited unforeseen technical hurdles at the repair site in Ghatura, Sadar upazila. Severe waterlogging at the excavated section prevented engineers from completing the maintenance work on time, a physical condition officials claimed was unknown prior to digging. Technical crews worked through the night to drain the area and complete the pipeline work. Full system pressure has now been restored, with utility management assuring consumers that supply will remain stable moving forward.
