Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company conducted 28,398 drives and disconnected 6,02,884 illegal connections in the last 20 months in Dhaka and Mymensingh divisions.

The drives were conducted from October 2021 to June 2023 and the length of the illegal connections were 668km, said Titas Managing Director Md Haronur Rashid Mullah.

While addressing a press conference in Titas office, he said Titas spent Tk 6.46 crore in conducting those drives and recovered around Tk 312 crore in arrears.

They also fined Tk 91.25 crore during the drives.

He said the government and private consumers owe Titas Tk 6,701 crore.

Replying to questions, the Titas MD said some contractors engage in setting up illegal connections, but due to lack of regulations, they can't take action against them. "But we put them in the blacklists. There are 50-60 names there."

Eight Titas employees were sacked due to their involvement in such activities, said Haronur Rashid Mullah, adding that 228 employees had faced different kinds of punishment.

"We have zero tolerance about our employees, and recently we have transferred 91 staff members," he added.