Need to recast fuel medium

The national regulator on energy has once again come up with a resolve not to allow public transport to use CNG and LPG cylinders. It remains to be seen how effectively the policy is implemented this time around. Ogra, the regulator, is in a crisscross of its own, as such decisions in the past were thrown to the wind; and in some cases the aggrieved parties went to the court of law. But the fact is that there aren’t any implementation muscles, and a huge chunk of transporters are oblivious to safety concerns, per se.

Ogra, way back in 2019, banned CNG and LPG cylinders inside the passengers’ compartments, and expected compliance from the relevant authorities. But as is the culture of ad hocism, nothing came out of it. The refuelling procedure and rules even date back to 1992. Even today millions of vehicles are on such gas kits, which literally act as flying bombs. The danger of explosion remains very high, and leakages are quite normal. But who cares as transporters’ priority is cost-effectiveness, and the general public is hapless to ride the combustible carriage! Neither the gas filling stations nor the authorities mind even checking the safety standards. Junk vehicles — fitted with substandard gas kits, and that too in an improper decorum — ply on.

The point is CNG is one of the most referred automobile fuels in the developing world. But it possesses a high chance of catching fire, and in environments of high mercury it is lethal. This is why gas kits are supposed to be mandatory checked, retested and approved on a periodic basis. Such kits fitted in petrol or diesel cars make it highly inflammable. Thus, there are off-and-on reports of cylinder bursts and subsequent accidents.

The need is to recast the fuel policy for transporters. Petrol and diesel should form the standard fuel, and all CNG and LNG vehicles impounded countrywide. Vehicles with multiple fuel applications should be scrapped of gas kits instantly; and school vans, in particular, should be free from that scourge.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2021.

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