THERE is hardly a moment when one is not confronted with evidence of bad governance in the country. If at one moment it is sugar that vanishes from the market and is only available to someone who is ready to pay through his nose, at another it is cement that leaves a construction project manager in the doldrums. The story of fading lights and unannounced power shutdowns and the agony of poor consumers of the goods of daily use getting costlier by the hour have become a daily phenomenon, with little prospect of change for the better in the foreseeable future. To cap them all is insecure existence whether due to poor law and order or a likely act of terrorism and its ill-conceived solution in the form of roadside barriers to free movement. To the existing stock of crises would soon be added a restricted supply of natural gas. The federal cabinet, which met on Wednesday at Islamabad, approved a 'gas load management plan' under which CNG used by different types of consumers, as a substitute for fuel, would not be available to industry as well as vehicles for two days a week beginning from November 15 up to March 15. The pity is that not long ago, the consumers of fuel were being urged to switch over to CNG for the sake of lessening the impact of pollution and had been given incentives in terms of cheaper availability. The government itself was setting an example and converting big guzzlers of oil, like power stations, into gas-run units. That was despite the fact that the diminishing stock of gas underground was not any secret. The hope was that soon a deal would be struck with neighbouring Iran where plentiful supply was there for the asking. Interestingly, the Iranians are all set to make their gas available, but the powers that be at Islamabad have continued the Musharraf era's practice of dillydallying under pressure from Washington. The adverse consequences of the interruption of CNG supply to industry would include a fall in output; that means lesser availability of goods in the market but increase in their prices and fewer exports that are already dwindling. Besides, the workforce, particularly the daily labour, would be hard hit. One hopes that at least those industries that require round-the-clock supply would not be affected. While the CNG outlets might have been counselled, and perhaps persuaded, to do with reduced profit, it is the plight of commuters, who are at the mercy of gas-run vehicles, private or public, for going about their daily chores or to offices and schools and the dislocation in the system that interrupted supply would cause, which demand serious attention from the government. Should one expect that our leaders would be bold and strike a deal with Iran without loss of time to avert a bigger crisis in the time to come?