LAHORE, March 2: The federal government’s authorities concerned have failed to take action against the people involved in running business of installation of substandard Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinders in vehicles. Dawn has learnt that several illegal workshops being run by the businessmen in Lahore and other parts of the country are playing with the lives of general public by installing substandard cylinders having inadequate gas filling capacity contrary to specifications.

According to a list prepared by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), CNG cylinders manufactured by some companies of good repute in Italy, China, India, Brazil, Dubai, Argentina and the United States are approved to be installed in vehicles.

“I am surprised as to why Ogra and the federal government’s department of explosives are not taking any action against the illegal business,” Raja Shujah Anwar, All Pakistan CNG Association president, said while talking to this reporter the other day.

He said at least 10 people had lost their lives while several others injured during various cylinder blasts including a recent one in Lahore.

In 1999, he said, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources had allowed only CNG stations to undertake the maintenance and installation of approved cylinders and kits but, later it made this business open for everyone that generated serious complaints, particularly relating to installation of substandard cylinders.He said illegal workshops established in the city, especially on Chauburji-Mozang Road, were promoting installation of industrial and oxygen cylinders against negligible prices – ranging from Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 per unit.

On behalf of the association, Anwar said, he had written many letters to the departments concerned and even tried hard to add some recommendations to the CNG policy but no one bothered taking any action.

He said Ogra and the departments of explosives had no mechanism to check the growing business or examining the quality of CNG cylinders.

“We are also confused about the role of Ogra and the explosives department.

We are still unaware as to who is actually dealing with this subject,” he added.

Muhammad Faisal, manager of a CNG filling station in Iqbal town, told Dawn the people involved in installing substandard cylinders were illiterate and had no expertise to test the specification of a cylinder prior to its installation.

“They are just fitting cylinders without considering the specification and are thus playing with the lives of ordinary people just to mint money,” he added.

Ali Khan, the explosives department’s director in Lahore, said he was helpless against the people involved in running such illegal business.

“We have to take action with the help of the provincial government. We have written several letters to the home department to initiate action against illegal workshops of CNG cylinders and kits, but to no avail,” he added.

He said as per rules, the department was bound to refer such complaints to the home department for necessary action.

“I can show you more than 100 letters I have written to the home department and the DCO but they didn’t take any action,” Khan added.

Talking to Dawn, Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) Lahore chapter head Saeed Khan said that it was not responsibility of the institute to check installation of substandard CNG cylinders.

“The HDIP as per rules is only authorised to check cylinders after a five-year time period and then issue fitness certificates,” he said, adding that Ogra was responsible to eliminate provision of substandard cylinders causing threat to people’s lives.