KARACHI, May 20: As the City government is gearing up to prohibit sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in cylinders within city limits after issuing a notification on May 10 on safety ground, LPG distributors have sought time for 180 days from the government for implementation of safety requirements at LPG store, distributor and storage shops. Distributors have also showed their reservation on the language of notification in which LPG cylinder has been considered as an explosive item.

The Notification says that manufacturing/sale/storage of explosive items/material without valid licence/permit/permission particularly in the residential areas as illegal/unauthorised/prohibited. Explosive items including gunpowder, dynamite, guncotton, blasting powder, fulminate of mercury or of other metals, coloured fires and every other substance whether similar to these mentioned or not used or manufactured with a view to producing fireworks, fuses, rockets, percussion caps, detonators, cartridges, ammunition of all description and every adaptation or preparation of an explosive as above defined besides filling/keeping LPG cylinders.

Any person manufacturing, possessing, storing and importing an explosive in contravention of this notification shall be punished under the prevailing rules/laws. However, the City government has yet to take any action against the free sale of LPG in the entire city areas after the May 10 notification as it is in the process of imposing Section 144 to check the unsafe storage of LPG cylinders in residential areas which may trigger major mishap.

LPG Distributors Welfare Association (LPGDWA), in a letter to District Coordination Officer (DCO) and Sindh government, said that the explosive items mentioned in the notification are all dangerous and hazardous items apart from LPG cylinder. The property of LPG is very less hazardous/dangerous as compared to other items mentioned in the notification.

The association said that LPG, stored in bulk, should only be handled by the LPG Marketing Companies having licence from OGRA, Petroleum Ministry, Explosive Department and Ministry of Industry.

The Association has asked its members to obtain trade licence from Town Municipal Administration. Besides, all dealers have been asked to obtain NOC from the City Government, fire department, and have inspection from the Civil Defence and install fire fighting equipment in their shops, maintain proper record of LPG sold to consumers.

Senior Vice Chairman of the Association, Ali Haider urged the City Government to exclude the LPG from explosive items mentioned in the notification. LPG distributors will comply with all safety requirements for distributors, storage, shops. The association asked the government to issue trade licence to all those shops that follow the safety standards. He said that the government should allow at least six months to all distributors to meet this requirement for the implementation of all safety measures.

He said that the City government had become active in issuing the notification after the Lahore incident in which a building collapsed due to an explosion in one of the gas cylinder, killing 30 people.

He said that LPG is selling in Lahore these days after the incident as investigations found that the blast was not occurred due to explosion of LPG cylinder but blast in industrial gas cylinders.

He said LPG is a common man commodity being used by the poor and lower income population as alternative fuel to kerosene and wood. The property of LPG is very environmental friendly and contains less standard pressure of 225-250 as compared to 3,200 standard pressure of CNG.

He said the association has advised the city government to take certain minimum safety requirements by binding shops to install no smoking signs and baskets filled with sand should be available for fire fighting. Chemically-filled fire-fighting cylinders should be available in shops. All electrical wiring should be concealed. The shop should not be located next to welding shop and there should be no fire in form of kitchen, tandoor, etc., within 30 feet of premises. Cylinder should not be stacked more than two each. First aid box should be available in shop. There should be no storage of LPG in basement while there must be ground level cross ventilators with three holes. There should be single storey outlet.

It may be mentioned here that consumers are using the LPG in a most unsafe manner. Gas vendors mostly purchase big cylinders and refill the gas into smaller ones to cut costs. Accidents usually occur during the process of refilling. A sizable number of old taxis and rickshaws are using the LPG as an alternative fuel to make huge savings after the phenomenal increase in petrol prices.