Daily life in Damascus only getting harder

Life in the Syrian capital of Damascus is getting harder. While a shortage of propane, and huge increases in prices, started well over a year ago, it has turned into a crisis more recently after clashes between government and rebel forces reached the city’s industrial zone in Adra, home to the country’s largest propane plant. As with most essential goods [petrol, mazut, electricity or bread], the propane sector has suffered due to the country’s 22-month conflict. The problem began with heightening fuel prices, made only worse by the difficulty of obtaining gas cylinders. Prices have gradually risen from 500 SL to 750, then 1,000, 1,500 until its current black market price of 2,500. Now, like bread and mazut, ordinary Syrians can only dream of easily accessible propane. Clashes have reached the perimeter of a propane lab in Adra in Rif Dimashq, which has only exacerbated the crisis. This has cut off propane supply completely, pushing the price of cylinders on the black market [when available] to 5,000-7,000. T Restaurant owners across Damascus have been left with no other option than to shut up shop. A number of restaurant owners in the famed Bab Touma area told Arabstoday that they have been trying to secure gas cylinders for the past two days to keep their businesses afloat, but most of them have failed. Some were prepared to pay any price offered. Restaurants with delivery services and fast food joints have suffered the most though. Unable to prepare dishes without gas, some owners have shuttered their businesses. Others are working with a restricted menu, making items that can be cooked with just electricity. Government sources have said that armed gangs seized the Adra plant before announcing that the Syrian army has retaken control of the area. Gas supply would resume, they said. Rif Dimashq Governor Hussein Makhlouf has reportedly inspected the plant and learnt of the extent of the damage. The plant’s director said shrapnel had damaged pipes, causing a gas leak, while a five-tonne tanker was also damaged. Rebel groups like the al-Islam Brigade in Adra have accused the Syrian regime of purposefully creating this crisis. They hold the regime “fully responsible” for the “invented” crisis. Whoever is responsible, daily life in Damascus is not getting any easier any time soon.