Rawalpindi Families Return to Wood-Fuelled Cooking
Prolonged gas load management, with supplies available for only six hours a day, coupled with a sharp increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, has forced low- and middle-income households in Rawalpindi to return to wood-fuelled cooking with firewood and coal as winter sets in.
Firewood, coal and kerosene oil are increasingly used by middle- and low-income families, roadside eateries and small tandoors. Rising firewood demand has reportedly contributed to more timber theft from public and private forests, and firewood and coal prices have risen sharply as winter sets in.
How long the gas is off
Sui gas supplies are being restricted to three daily intervals of two hours each, while uninterrupted outages from 9pm until Sehri have become routine. With gas load management extending to 18 to 20 hours a day across the city, roadside eateries, small tandoors, hotels and bakeries have begun using firewood instead of gas.
As a result, traders, large shopkeepers and affluent families have increasingly turned to gas cylinders, pushing up demand and prompting a further rise in cylinder prices.
The pattern hits the evening meal hardest, since the long night outage leaves no piped gas for dinner or early morning preparation, which is why wood and coal have come back even in households that own a gas connection.
What fuel now costs
| Fuel or item | Current price |
|---|---|
| Coal, low-smoke | Rs1,000 per maund |
| Coal, less heat and smoke | Rs800 per maund |
| Dry firewood | Rs1,500 to Rs1,800 per maund |
| Ordinary firewood | Rs1,300 to Rs1,400 per maund |
| Sawdust | Rs700 per maund |
| New empty domestic cylinder | Rs13,500, up from Rs10,000 |
| Used domestic cylinder | Rs8,000 to Rs10,000 |
| Domestic cylinder refill | Rs5,000, up from Rs3,000 |
| Commercial cylinder refill | Up to Rs25,000, up from Rs12,500 to Rs14,000 a year ago |
Who has switched to wood-fuelled cooking and why
Residents and tandoor owners are also buying discarded wooden pieces and sawdust cheaply at furniture markets. Furniture factory owner Muhammad Faizan said that, previously, discarded wooden pieces and sawdust had been disposed of in Nullah Lai. “We used to dispose of these wooden pieces and sawdust in Nullah Leh. Now, people come to our factory in the evening, clean the premises themselves and take the waste away,” he said.
Divisional president of the All Pakistan Clerks Association, Shehzad Manzoor Kiyani, said rising inflation had brought back the era of firewood and coal. He said clerical and lower-grade government employees had reported that gas supplies were no longer reliable and monthly LPG expenses had reached Rs10,000 to Rs12,000, forcing them to switch to firewood.
Teachers’ leaders Basharat Iqbal Raja and Shafiq Bhalwalia said crippling inflation had compelled households to use gas cylinders for emergency cooking and making tea for guests during the day, while relying on firewood to prepare the evening meal.
How this compares with last week
This is a deepening crisis, not a new one. Feature Pakistan reported on 26 October that twin cities households already faced gas for only six hours a day and LPG at Rs600 per kg against an official rate of Rs279. At that time an 11kg domestic cylinder cost Rs6,500 and commercial cylinders sold for over Rs25,000.
Today’s report shows the same six-hour gas window, now framed as 18 to 20 hours of outages a day, with a domestic refill at Rs5,000, up from Rs3,000. The shift to firewood, already visible in October, has now reached tandoors, hotels and bakeries, and has begun to feed timber theft from forests.
No new official relief measure was reported in the Tribune account. Until supply hours lengthen or cylinder prices fall, households will keep choosing fuel that burns when the gas does not come.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours a day is gas available in Rawalpindi?
Piped gas runs six hours a day, in three two-hour intervals, with load management reaching 18 to 20 hours a day and outages from 9pm until Sehri.
What does firewood and coal cost now?
Dry firewood costs Rs1,500 to Rs1,800 per maund and ordinary firewood Rs1,300 to Rs1,400, while coal sells for Rs800 to Rs1,000 per maund and sawdust has reached Rs700 per maund.
What does a gas cylinder refill cost?
A domestic cylinder refill has risen from Rs3,000 to Rs5,000, a new empty domestic cylinder costs Rs13,500, and commercial refills have reached as much as Rs25,000.
Why are families switching to wood and coal?
Gas supplies are unreliable, monthly LPG expenses have reached Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 for lower-grade employees, and firewood and coal can be used at any hour, including during the long night outage.
