June 18, 2007	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 02, 1428

GUJRANWALA, June 17: The number LPG gas cylinder sale points has mushroomed in and around the city where traders sell and refill cylinders without observing precautionary measures.

Dawn conducted a survey and found 450 shops selling gas cylinder illegally. Only 45 dealers have got issued licences from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). Even these licence-holder shopkeepers have not obtained no-objection-certificates from the city district government.

Shops selling gas cylinders can be found in Kamoki, Naushera Virkan, Wazirabad, Ghakkhar Town, Rahwali, Eminabad, Qila Dedar Singh and Alipur Chattha. Most of the shops are located in crowded places. Up to 35 factories are manufacturing gas cylinders.

The steel sheets being used in these gas cylinders are of poor quality, which pose risk to users. Six people that include shopkeepers and customers have been killed in the last two years due to explosion of gas cylinders. These explosions occurred due to leakage of gas and poor quality of cylinder’s sheets. The dealers use plastic or rubber pipes to fill and refill cylinders.

Dawn found that not even a single shopkeeper had fire-extinguishing arrangements which are necessary in such businesses.

District Civil Defence Officer Asif Nawaz Warraich admitted illegal sale of gas cylinders being done in and around the city. He said measures should be taken to legalise the business. He said he had no powers to take action against the dealers as the provincial government had withdrawn their power to chalan gas cylinder dealers for their illegal business.