KARACHI: The cause of the blast that rocked a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station located in the DHA on Wednesday afternoon still remains shrouded in mystery. Looking at the crumbled filling station, it is indeed a matter of surprise — and thankfully so — that there were no fatalities.
In their initial report minutes after the blast, the police were quick to rule out sabotage. If this was done to scotch any further investigation into the incident which, knowing our police, many sceptical area residents feel is the case, the authorities concerned need to reconsider the matter.
CNG is a highly combustible substance that has obvious hazards, and the need for safety precautions cannot be overemphasized. The very siting of this filling station in the middle of the residential area on Khyaban-i-Bahria was seen as thoughtless by the area residents, who tried all they could to stop its construction a few years ago. That the DHA did not initially allocate enough plots for such a basic amenity in its expansion plan for the housing authority comprising Karachi’s most expensive real estate is one reason why petrol pumps and other service installations had to be located in an ad-hoc manner in the middle of populated areas.
Accusations have not taken long in coming. The multinational company owning and operating the filling station has blamed Sui Southern Gas Company of negligence by saying that the pipeline located at the back of the filling station had developed leakages, which the SSGC failed to plug despite repeated requests. The SSGC, for its part, has said that the gas supply to the filling station had remained suspended since Oct 25, thus trying to absolve itself of the blame.
If an incident like this had taken place anywhere else in the world, any two parties concerned would have been at great pains to offer regrets and sympathy to the families of those injured. But there is only a trading of accusations here, which is deplorable and shows a lack of social responsibility on the part of all concerned.
As for the accusations and their rebuttal, neither makes any sense in the absence of a thorough investigation into the cause of the blast. Until such an investigation is held and its findings are known, both parties would do well to refrain from assigning responsibility.
That said, there is a dire need to put in place safeguards and a quality control regime that should govern operations of the filling stations dispensing CNG. Given the highly explosive nature of the substance and the phenomenal increase in the number of motorists now relying on CNG as an affordable alternative to petroleum, the absence of such a governing mechanism is all the more surprising.
Over the past decade, the government’s efforts have been concentrated on mainly recommending the use of CNG to motorists and, to some extent, to the granting of licences to CNG filling stations. While the CNG Act of 1992 lays down stringent conditions and rules to thwart the theft of CNG from the pipeline supplying natural gas to the filling stations, it offers little in terms of a quality control or regulatory mechanism aimed at ensuring public safety.
If this lopsided approach continues, there may be more disastrous accidents of this kind as the use of CNG grows across the country. Reports of incidents involving the use of substandard cylinders in vehicles are on the rise but because of the absence of data on the subject, it is not possible to quote the actual number of such accidents. But one person hurt or killed should be considered one too many in this context.
Pakistan today is the third highest user in the world of CNG products. It is important that unnecessary public fears are not aroused, but it is equally important that the petroleum and gas ministry should put in place a safety regulatory mechanism to ensure that CNG remains a viable and a safe source of energy.
