PESHAWAR: The district administration has launched a drive to stop use of CNG cylinders at restaurants and tandoors.

The authorities arrested several people and seized 17 cylinders during raids in different parts of the provincial metropolis. The drive was launched after the death of eight people on May 6 in a cylinder blast at a tandoor in Dir Colony.

Dr Mohammad Tahir, the head of the burns centre, however, did not tell this scribe the exact number of the people killed in the incident. The patients were serious, he said.

He said that most of the victims of the cylinder blast sustained 70 to 80 per cent wounds and in such a situation survival became almost impossible.

13 incidents of gas leakage and cylinder blasts have been reported in Peshawar since start of Ramazan

The relatives of some of the victims confirmed that their family members had died. Those, who died in hospital on different days, included Nawab Khan, 60, Arif, Sakina Bibi, 4, Nisar Ahmed Khan, 11, Bilal Khan, 5, and Irfan Khan, 14.

Kamran Khan told Dawn that his only son Irfan was killed in the cylinder blast. “I have three daughters,” he said and complained that his son died due to lack of proper medical treatment. The victims belong to Gharibabad, Dir Colony.

It may be recalled here that that about 40 people were admitted to the burns centre at Hayatabad Medical Complex that lacks the required beds and other facilities owing to which both the patients and medical staff faced problems.

According to a statement issued by the deputy commissioner here on Monday, the administration had already warned the owners of restaurants and tandoors against the use of cylinders.

It was stated that the operation against the use of CNG cylinders was conducted in Namak Mandi and managers of three restaurants were arrested and cylinders were seized.

Similarly, five cylinders were seized on Kohat Road, four in Gul Bahar, five in Hayatabad Township where the managers of the restaurants were also arrested.

The operation was supervised by Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali Asghar himself while other teams were headed by assistant commissioners Shahbaz Khattak, Najeedullah Khan, Naseer Khan in their respective areas.

It stated that CNG cylinders were used in tandoors in the busy commercial and residential areas and posed serious threat to the lives of people.

Meanwhile, the administration has strictly directed the owners of CNG filling stations to avoid filling the cylinders for the restaurants and tandoors otherwise legal action would be taken against them.

Keeping in view such fatal incidents, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement department has asked district administration across the province to ensure necessary precautions to avoid gas cylinder explosions and loss of lives.

It said that the LPG cylinders should only be purchased from well-reputed companies and should not have any kind of dent on it and it should always be kept at an open space.

It said that the cylinders should also be kept at hard surface and it should always be kept away from flame to avoid fire outbreaks.

The figures of Rescue-1122 show that 13 incidents of gas leakage and cylinder blasts have taken place in the provincial capital since the advent of Ramazan that injured at least 25 persons.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2019