KHUJAND, November 19, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Natural-gas supplies to gas refueling stations in the Sughd province has been reduced following considerable decrease in gas shipments from Uzbekistan.

According to the Sughd transport, communications and road-servicing department, the gas supplies were reduced on November 13, leading to irregularity of work of public transport it the area because the majority of buses and fixed-route taxies (minivans) here run on natural gas.

“There are some 50 gas refueling stations in Sughd and the supply of daily natural gas to them was reduced to ten hours – five hours of natural gas in the morning (from 5:00 to 10:00 am) and five hours in the evening (from 5 to 10 pm),” the source at the Sughd transport, communications and road-servicing department said.

To ensure regular work of the public transport in Khujand, four other natural-gas pumps has been installed at the Avtogazservis refueling station, which works 16 hours per day – from 5:00 to 13:00 and from 17:00 to 1:00, he added.