LPG shop blast fatalities rise to seven

In a quick reaction district administration seals 53 decanting shops

HYDERABAD:

The blast in a shop selling Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Pareetabad, Hyderabad, and consequent fire has killed seven children so far with fear of more deaths as critically injured patients are still under treatment in hospitals.

As families carried coffins of four children in Pareetabad on Friday, the authorities in their traditional reactionary action sealed 53 shops of LPG which have been operating illegally in residential buildings and areas.

Some 63 persons were injured in the incident and 48 of them were admitted in Liaquat University Hospital (LUH). The hospital referred 13 patients to Karachi while another 19 patients were also taken to Karachi. All the seven children who have lost their lives also succumbed to their injuries in Karachi.

The deceased include four years old Ali Raza, six years old Hasnain Rashid, 10 years old Abdul Raheem, Ayan Javed and Azan Shakir, 12 years old Abdul Hadi and 15 years old Bilal Ashiq. Four of them, Raheem, Ayaz, Hasnain and Bilal, were laid to rest on Friday afternoon after Namaz-e-Janaza, attended by a large number of people in Pareetabad. The crest fallen families were offered condolences by the local citizens and the city's top officials as well as political figures.

However, no words could console their absolute sorrow. "My son was playing around before my eyes until yesterday and today he has just become a memory," said Rashid, father of Hasnain. The government is yet to announce any compensation for the victims or for their damaged assets and properties.

By fits and starts

In a knee-jerk reaction to Thursday tragic incident, the district administration on Monday sealed 53 shops selling LPG including 25 filling stations in City taluka, 15 in Qasimabad taluka, 10 in Hyderabad taluka and three in Latifabad taluka. "Action was taken illegally operating LPG filling points," said a statement of Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abideen Memon.

He said operating an LPG filling business in a residential area is unlawful and assured that all such shops will be sealed. "There is nothing more important than human life." However, he steered clear of fixing responsibility on the concerned departments and officials who are supposed to prevent such illegal business from operating. Nor any assurance about a transparent inquiry against the complicit officials has been announced so far.

Over the years dozens of LPG shops have sprung up and as demand for the fuel has increased because of the prevailing shortage of the natural gas supplied by Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL). Such shops are known to be operating without obtaining permit from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and with undoubted negligence if not outright connivance of the concerned officials.

The restaurant industry is mostly dependent on the LPG to burn their stoves. Many of the new residential schemes as well as apartment buildings in the city have also not been provided gas connections and, resultantly, such households are also dependent on LPG for their kitchens. The local authorities seemed to have paid no heed to that domestic demand of the fuel while closing the shops.

In addition to the kitchen use, the public transport vehicles like rent a car cabs, rickshaws, small goods transport vehicles, vans and buses also unlawfully use LPG as a fuel. However, such vehicles are purchasing LPG from the shops in Jamshoro, Kotri and Matiari.

Political jibes

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other political parties have blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP's) Sindh government, its administration and the party's mayor in Hyderabad for the incident. "Civil hospital gets billions of rupees in the budget but the burns ward's air conditioning system doesn't work," lamented MNA Abdul Aleem Khanzada of MQM-P at a press conference at Hyderabad press club.

He also deplored that a fire station in Pareetabad, which has around 600,000 population, was closed last year owing to which the fire fighting operation was delayed. The MQM-P called for removing Mayor Kashif Ali Shoro from his position. The party also demanded Rs5 million compensation for the deceased and Rs3 million for the injured persons.

Talking to the media in Hyderabad PTI Sindh's president Haleem Adil Sheikh deplored that the concerned authorities do not regulate the LPG business. He also criticized the delayed response of fire brigades and ambulances, contending that casualties exacerbated because of that delay.

"The PPP has been in the government for the past 16 years but there are no properly operating burns wards in the cities excluding Karachi." Meanwhile, the mayor clarified in a statement that the fire brigade received information from the 15 Madadgar police at 6.08 pm and by 6.25 pm the fire tenders had reached the spot despite traffic clogging and narrow streets.

A total of five fire tenders were sent to the spot. Shoro said he himself along with his municipal commissioner supervised the emergency response by immediately reaching the area. He said MQM-P is politicizing the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2024.