GAS has remained a scarce commodity in parts of the Northern Region for over two months now.
At most vending stations, it has become normal to see placards with “No Gas” inscription placed at their entrants.
On Tuesday morning, when the Daily Graphic visited some of these vending stations in Tamale, they were as quite as cemeteries, since there was no gas for sale.
The situation in the region is so severe that people have to sleep over night at various gas outlets just to get served anytime limited quantities are brought into the region.
In an interview, the managers of some of the vending stations said they were expecting gas soon, but could not give a guarantee as to the exact day.
The Zonal Manager of GOIL, Mr Marcus Deo Dake, said they his outfit had projected to sell 52,000kg of gas per month in the three northern regions, but that they had not been able to achieve even half of that due to the shortages.
He said his outfit was yet to receive consignment for the month of August, but that, they have been told that gas would soon be discharged to the north.
Although government officials have given assurances that the shortage would soon be over, inhabitants of Tamale and other parts of the region are entreating the President, Prof John Atta Mills to do something more pragmatic to avert future shortages.
The shortage of this essential commodity has led to a higher demand for charcoal, but for some people, the use of charcoal brings back the discomfort of cooking in an environment engulfed by smoke and ash.
“We are compelled to cook in the open space because our kitchen is such that we cannot use the coal-pot inside,” Madam Adisa Mahama, a resident of Russian Bungalows lamented.
For some people, having more cylinders in their homes has become the only way to cope.
“I have just bought another cylinder and I plan to add another one very soon. If I do not do this, anytime the single cylinder is empty, it means I have to live for several days or even weeks without gas,” Mr Francis Npong, a journalists with the Enquirer newspaper stated.
Meanwhile, the absence of gas has also had a negative toll on some Muslims who are observing the Ramadan.
In the early and cold hours of between 2am and 3am, some households wake up and struggle to start fire with dampened charcoal and other materials.
To avoid this difficulty, some Muslims have rather adapted to storing food cooked in the night for use at dawn.
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