Unsafe LPG cylinders

The Punjab Police quickly responded to the deadly explosion at a Jhelum hotel by registering a case against the property’s owner. The incident, which has been blamed on an illegal liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder shop being operated in the building’s basement, took at least seven lives, including that of the man who reportedly owned the cylinder shop and was the only other person nominated in the first information report. However, the charges all relate to assault, explosive materials and criminal conspiracy, with no charges relating to murder, manslaughter or other wrongful death offenses.

The incident is yet another example of the state’s failure to regulate gas cylinders — just two days before the Jhelum incident, at least seven people were killed and 14 others injured after the gas cylinder in a vehicle exploded in Sargodha, and a cylinder blast in Lasbela killed at least 13 people in December. Several other deadly incidents have been reported in the interim. All of these incidents can be blamed on the easy availability of substandard and poorly installed equipment, and the apathy of police and other enforcement officials who are supposed to crack down on such trade.

Interestingly, one of the most common problems is also among the easiest to fix, if only quality control were a thing — rubber washers and other basic parts can come loose, but are easily and cheaply replaced or repaired, if only someone would bother to look. But it is not just the cylinders. Users have long ignored basic protocols, such as allowing children to handle and use what is, at the end of the day, a piece of industrial equipment. People can also be seen mishandling or otherwise, roughly moving cylinders, ignoring the fact that they a quite literally potential explosive devices.

And yet, unsafe cylinders are still a step up on the reckless trend in parts of the country to use plastic bags for gas storage. But this is also why shoddy cylinders will remain a deadly problem — despite the dangers, they are the only cheap option for millions of Pakistanis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2023.

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