Exploding CNG cylinders
According to a report released last year as many as 2,000 people had died because of CNG cylinder explosions in 2011.
According to a report submitted to PHC by NAB,101 or so officials of various government departments in K-P are running transport businesses and using substandard CNG cylinders to cut costs. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
The cost of life is cheaper than CNG cylinders to certain people who make up the state apparatus of Pakistan. Among these are the 101 or so officials of various government departments in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), who are running transport businesses and using substandard CNG cylinders to cut costs, according to a report submitted to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Even by the standards of this country, it is too early to forget the horrors of the Gujrat bus accident last May, when 17 children and their teacher were burnt alive because of a CNG cylinder explosion. Prior to this, in December 2011, was the accident near Hyderabad where 11 people, including six children, were burnt to death in a similar incident. These are only two instances of many such accidents. There are countless such events that occur in Pakistan on a daily basis, which go unnoticed because the number of dead is not high enough. A report released by Civil Society Front last year claimed that as many as 2,000 people had died because of CNG cylinder explosions in 2011. The report said the number of fatalities were likely to double in following years given the abundant usage of expired or poor quality CNG kits.
Following increased casualties, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had also recommended a ban on CNG use in public transport. But who will ensure this when officials designated to secure the lives of the public are themselves involved? Indeed, the officials involved in this are from the same departments that are expected to either take action or sensitise the public against such acts. The NAB report states that the said individuals are from the police, education, public health, population welfare, among other departments. NAB had prepared the report after the PHC had taken suo-motu notice of the matter and the case has now been closed. The government must, now, take a stand and conduct an impartial inquiry into the allegations so that more lives are not lost due to such negligence.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2014.
Even by the standards of this country, it is too early to forget the horrors of the Gujrat bus accident last May, when 17 children and their teacher were burnt alive because of a CNG cylinder explosion. Prior to this, in December 2011, was the accident near Hyderabad where 11 people, including six children, were burnt to death in a similar incident. These are only two instances of many such accidents. There are countless such events that occur in Pakistan on a daily basis, which go unnoticed because the number of dead is not high enough. A report released by Civil Society Front last year claimed that as many as 2,000 people had died because of CNG cylinder explosions in 2011. The report said the number of fatalities were likely to double in following years given the abundant usage of expired or poor quality CNG kits.
Following increased casualties, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had also recommended a ban on CNG use in public transport. But who will ensure this when officials designated to secure the lives of the public are themselves involved? Indeed, the officials involved in this are from the same departments that are expected to either take action or sensitise the public against such acts. The NAB report states that the said individuals are from the police, education, public health, population welfare, among other departments. NAB had prepared the report after the PHC had taken suo-motu notice of the matter and the case has now been closed. The government must, now, take a stand and conduct an impartial inquiry into the allegations so that more lives are not lost due to such negligence.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2014.