The gas supply in more than 16 areas of Karachi resumed on Thursday after the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited repaired a 16-inch diameter gas pipeline in the city’s Bath Island Clifton area.

The pipeline got damaged on Tuesday, causing problems for gas consumers amid the ongoing winter season where the use of natural gas spikes.

“Due to the damaged line, gas supply in Clifton, Gizri, DHA, Gizri, Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, Old city area, Mai Kolachi, Bath Island, Sultanabad, Ziauddin Hospital, Dolmen Mall, Movenpick, Mariott and PC hotels and areas around Mai Kolachi was affected,” the SSGC said in a news update on X.

It added that the SSGC’s teams remained on site “since Tuesday to complete maintenance work for earliest resumption” to avoid further gas shortage in the affected areas.

The last data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that annual short-term inflation rose to above 40 per cent for the first time in over four months due to massive hike in the gas prices.

In November, the Oil and Gas Regul­atory Authority notified gas rates hike and charges for all gas consumers in the country.

The federal government notified a hike of up to 172% in gas tariff in October. It increased the fixed monthly charges for the residential “protected category” from Rs10 to Rs400

But this is not enough as caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar told reporters on November 16 that gas prices would be increased in January 2024.