Gas pipeline blasts

In recent months in Karachi, several blasts have occurred due to leakage in domestic gas pipelines, raising doubts about the competency of those responsible for gas supply and for ensuring safety of gas pipelines. In September, an explosion in a gas pipeline inside a home in North Karachi killed two people; in October, six persons died in a gas pipeline blast in an apartment building in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. In this incident, the explosion was so powerful that one floor of the building was completely destroyed, rendering many occupants of the flats homeless. The gas supply company insists that the blast had no connection with gas pipelines.

And this month, on Dec 4, a child died and six members of the same family were injured when an explosion occurred inside their home in New Karachi. The explosion is said to have happened after gas accumulated inside the house from a leaking pipeline. The family had reportedly disconnected the gas supply because of interrupted supply and they were using a gas cylinder. A bomb disposal squad came to the conclusion that the blast was caused due to a leaking gas pipeline, possibly at the place where the disconnection was made. Several such explosions within a span of a few months naturally raise the issue of safety, which needs to be addressed with utmost attention to allay the fears of gas consumers.

For the past several years, parts of the country have been experiencing a shortage of gas in winter as gas is diverted to colder regions. However, lately gas pressure remains low in homes all through the year. While successive governments have been promising that the supply of gas will improve soon, things have only been deteriorating .The continuing shortage of gas has given rise to serious safety concerns, so the authorities should be more focused on safety issues and ensure that complaints of gas leakage is rectified promptly. Negligence by gas workers is manifest in reportedly disregarding complaints and overbilling.