Gas woes ignite a surge in demand for alternative cooker

Nipa looks delighted as she holds the dark maroon rice cooker, almost the colour of chicken liver, in her hands. The white engraving on it reads 'Konka,' the manufacturer's name. The whitish stains of rice starch and the crack on the black cord indicate that it has seen a lot of action in the past. 

Her smile, holding the 'pre-loved' rice cooker, suggests relief. One of her employers, whom she serves as a maid, gave her the appliance. In the slum, swarming with people, all cramped up in a small space, Nipa hardly gets the chance to cook on time. And when she finally gets the gas burners in the shared kitchen to herself, there are no flames at all due to the low gas supply.

"Every day, I have to wake up at 3 am in the morning in this cold to cook because that is the only time I find the kitchen empty and the gas pressure is also at full strength. At 7 am, I have to get out for work, and by the time I return, it's afternoon, and there is no gas in the supply line. The rice cooker will save a lot of time," Nipa said.

Like hundreds of other residents of Sipahibagh in the capital's Goran area, Nipa is struggling with the piped gas shortage. People in many areas of the city are not receiving piped gas for six to 18 hours a day, and when they start receiving it, the pressure is so low that it takes long hours to cook food and warm water.

People are now opting for alternative cooking options. While Nipa is happy to get a second-hand rice cooker from her employer, those who can afford to buy electric cooking appliances are opting for induction or infrared stoves.

Eliza Parvin, a resident of the capital's Farmgate area, is pursuing her MBA. She lives in a women's hostel, where a maid cooks for the five girls that live there. By the time the maid finishes preparing food in the morning, Eliza is already out for her classes.

"I cannot afford to eat out anymore. So last month I bought an infrared stove for Tk 2,500. It is in my room. In the morning, I cook whatever I can for myself and go to my classes. I do not like what 'khala' (the maid) cooks in the winter. It feels like the spices are not cooked well. So sometimes I cook for myself," Eliza said.

According to Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Corporation, popularly known as Petrobangla, the country's total daily gas consumption stood at 2539.3 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) on 17 January, against the capacity of 3,760 mmcfd.

While the power industry has a demand for 2240 mmcfd, the supply is only 744 mmcfd. The fertiliser industry has a demand for 329 mmcfd, and the supply is 213 mmcfd.

In a recent interview, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited's managing director, Md Haronur Rashid Mullah, acknowledged the household gas crisis and blamed the supply shortage for it.

In that interview, Mullah said, "In the recent past, we used to receive 1,800 mmcfd [million cubic feet] per day, but now we are getting 1,600 mmcfd against a demand of about 2,500 mmcfd. We have to distribute gas for industries as well," Mullah explained.

Electric cooker sales see big gains

The gas crisis has spurred the demand for electric cookers. The available electric cooking appliances in the Bangladeshi market include hotplates, induction cookers, infrared cookers, rice/multi-cookers, curry cookers, electric pressure cookers, etc. During the winter, the sale of induction and infrared cookers surges.

The showroom manager of Vision Emporium near Khilgaon Chowrasta said, "We are selling around 50 units of induction and infrared cookers everyday. Even two months back, the sale was less than half."

Touhiduzzaman, the assistant general manager of public relations at the Pan-RFL Group, said, "The overall sale of electric cooking units has seen a 30% growth in recent months."

Mostafa Kamal, the chief business officer of Walton home and kitchen appliances, also acknowledged the situation. He said, "As there is a gas crisis during the winter season, our induction cooker, infrared cooker, rice cooker, and hot plate cooker sales have increased 30-40% compared to the summer."

The price range of the company's electric cooker is Tk 2,690-5,190. Vision's induction cooker price ranges from Tk 3,750-4,450, and the infrared cooker price ranges from Tk 3,850-4,950.

Although induction cookers are more energy-efficient, people opt for infrared ones, as the induction stove requires induction cookware to cook on them. "If a family of 4-5 members cooks on an induction stove, it would add Tk 600-700 to the month-end electricity bill. Meanwhile, the same amount of food preparation, if done on an infrared stove, will cost almost double, Tk 1,200-1,300," Touhiduzzaman said.

According to the market analysis carried out by the company, the overall electric cooker sale has seen 15 percent growth in the country.

Bakeries go back to firewood

However, bakeries are opting for firewood and, on occasion, gas cylinders. Maya Bakery, a small local baking factory in the capital, produces cheap cakes, biscuits, and bakery items for roadside tea stalls and hotels. Their small baking area has black patches all over the floor and the ceiling from the soot of firewood.

"During the winter, we cannot rely on gas supply for baking. So we go back to firewood," said Ikramul Hosen, a manager of the factory.

Ikramul and his team bought five maunds (200 kg) of firewood from the local sawmills in Nawabganj. Per maund of wood cost him Tk 400. "This firewood would be enough for ten days. And it is affordable for us. Otherwise, we would have to go for gas cylinders, which are costlier," Ikramul said.

Rabbani has a Bakarkhani factory and store in the same area. Earlier, he had a tandoor that ran on coal. It has been six months since Rabbani bought a commercial bakery oven for baking his Bakarhanis. But for the last few months, he has not used supply line gas to run it, as the piped line has a minimum supply during the day.

"I had to get cylinder gas to run this massive oven, which costs me even more now," Rabbani said. Rabbani needs a 16 kg LPG gas cylinder every day, which costs him Tk 1,570, which is Tk 47,100 a month. To cover the expense, he raised the price of his Bakarkhanis. A kilogramme of sweetened Bakarkhani costs Tk 220 now; earlier, it was Tk 190.

However, housewives, especially those working outside and also home cooks, are the ones who have to suffer the most from the gas supply crunch. Meher Nigar (not her real name), a mother of three, resides in the capital's Agargaon area with her in-laws. She works as a school teacher in Agargaon.

Nigar gets up at six in the morning and prepares breakfast for her kids, husband, and mother-in-law. Her school starts at eight am and ends at one pm. When she gets back home, her kitchen stove has little gas supply. It takes Nigar about 3:30pm to finish cooking lunch and she has her lunch at 4-4:30 in the afternoon every day.

"There are days when I have to precook everything the night before. I have developed a gastritis problem over the last few months because of irregular eating, for which I have to take medicine often," Nigar said.

With three school-going kids and a bedridden old woman to take care of, the added cost of electricity will be a huge burden. So Nigar hesitates to buy an electric stove. "It is hard to carry on like this. I don't know how long I have to suffer," Nigar said.