Sir: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines and the Sui Southern Gas company have imposed additional security deposits of several thousand rupees on the assumption as if all the law-abiding consumers, including those paying gas bills regularly for over 10 or 20 years, will become defaulters some day and disappear. These state-owned companies will collect Rs.14 billion, rather must have already collected it. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has approved the new law. Following suit, the chances are the electricity, water and other service providers might start charging something of the kind as well. An individual consumer cannot afford to get justice through the courts. In a democracy, it is people’s representatives who are expected to look after the interests of the common citizens. Now let us see it if our worthy parliamentarians examine this novel concept of extracting money from helpless consumers, based on total distrust, and do something about it. Muhammad Khan Rawalpindi