Multan LPG blast

Six people lost their lives; 38 got injured; 20 heads of cattle perished; and many houses collapsed - all from an LPG tanker explosion in Multan yesterday. However, the unfortunate incident is not the first of its kind. Fire incidents caused by leakage and explosion of LPG cylinders have occurred with a worrying frequency across the country in recent times. Just this month, a man was burnt to death when his house caught fire from an LPG cylinder blast in Ghotki district of Sindh. In a more serious incident, in May last year, 27 people, including 19 children, were killed in an explosion at an LPG cylinder filling shop in Hyderabad. Similar incidents, in Bhitshah and Larkana, followed within two weeks since then.

The Multan incident shattered the relevant authorities out of their slumber. Prompted into action, officials came up with a raft of measures such as: ordering preparation of a list of LPG containers in the division; imposing a ban on standing LPG containers; raiding LPG and CNG filling shops and sealing the illegal ones and those operating without proper safety measures. It is customary for the authorities, in general, to spring into action in the wake of an incident, only to go back like a light once things are calmed down.

Gas cylinders are like bombs with very short fuses. It goes without saying that they need to be handled with extreme care and caution. Unfortunately, reverse the case in the context. There is no dearth of LPG filling shops located in densely populated residential areas. There is no check on the condition of LPG cylinders being used in public and private transport, even in school vans. It is about time the authorities devised a proper regulation mechanism concerning the LPG storage and filling facilities, and ensured its strict implementation.