Islamabad, Jan 13 : Several areas of Pakistan's Karachi remained without gas supply on Monday while other regions received gas with low pressure, local media reported on Tuesday.

Residents in Karachi continue to face reduced gas supply amid severe winter weather. People said that winter weather had once again exposed the gas utility distribution infrastructure's failure. They have been facing a gas crisis for the past four days, leading to residents turning to expensive LPG cylinders, further increasing their financial woes, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

"How long will Karachi tolerate a utility that canâ??t secure its own supply," Dawn quoted a housewife from Gulistan-i-Jauhar as saying.

Meanwhile, a Nazimabad resident said that the people of Karachi paid the price while the gas utility provided the same narrative each winter. "Until the company is held accountable, infrastructure is upgraded, and the government stops turning a blind eye, Karachiâ??s residents will remain hostages of a broken system," she said.

The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) said that the utility had faced a reduction in gas supply from two fields, which stopped gas service to various areas. A gas utility spokesperson said that the gas received from these two gas fields was about 45 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), resulting in some areas of Karachi receiving reduced gas supply. The SSGC was taking measures to ensure gas supply, the spokesperson added.

Last week, protests were held in Pakistan's Quetta due to prolonged gas shortages amid severe cold weather, with residents blocking roads and burning tyres, local media reported on Sunday.

Gas supply was reduced in several areas amid severe cold, causing serious difficulties for people who are trying to keep their homes warm. The loadshedding in Quetta and surrounding areas has been implemented by the SSGC from midnight to 5 a.m., Dawn reported.

Residents in Kalat, Mastung, Ziarat, Pishin and several other areas also faced similar gas shortages amid the ongoing cold weather. However, residents in many areas of Quetta and its outskirts have said that they are not getting gas properly even outside these hours. Several regions in the main city also faced low pressure or disruption of gas supply from SSGS as temperatures have reached minus five degrees.

Residents of the Sariab area, who also faced gas shortages, held a protest against low gas pressure and prolonged supply disruption. Protesters burned tyres, erected barricades, and blocked the road, halting traffic movement.

/IANS