DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
The Sindh High Court has given another deadline to the federal and provincial governments for taking ‘effective’ measures to remove the substandard gas cylinders, tanks and CNG kits from public transport vehicles operating across Sindh.
By August 23, the officials concerned will submit a compliance report, ordered the division bench, headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, on Tuesday.
The order came on a petition filed by a non-government organisation, United Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which had gone to the court seeking a ban on installation of substandard gas cylinders, tank and CNG kits in public and private transport.
“Several people have lost their lives due to the use of substandard gas cylinders in public transport but the authorities concerned have failed to take action against such traffic violations,” Rana Faizul Hasan, the NGO’s general secretary, submitted in his plea.
He referred to the death of two passengers and injuring of many others in the explosion in a mini-bus’s gas cylinder during refilling at a CNG station on Abul Hassan Isfahani Road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on November 17.
Hasan had pleaded to the court to order that only the government-verified cylinders/CNG kits should be used by public and private transport to avoid accidents and blasts. The court was also requested to stop the decanting of LPG at densely populated areas.
Taking up the matter in the larger public interest, the judges had ordered the concerned authorities in the federal and provincial governments on November 28, 2012 to initiate action in this regard.
On February 13, the court had allowed two more weeks to the authorities to comply with the directions and warned of ‘contempt proceedings’ in case of non-compliance.
On Tuesday, the matter was taken up by another bench to see the progress but only to find out that nothing had been done despite repeated directions and grant of time.
Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh directed the authorities concerned to comply with the court’s November 28 order by taking measures for removal of the substandard gas cylinders, tanks and CNG kits from public and private vehicles. He asked that a compliance report should be submitted by August 23.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 5th, 2013.
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Too many deadlines water down the authority of the court. Action is required and that too, prompt action. Pakistan has no standard method of evaluating the quality of cylinders or does it? The inspectors are sifarshis, underpaid and lack knowledge of the product. For a few measly bucks they buy and sell the death dealing item and go about feeling smug.