GUJRAT: As many as 66 outlets were sealed across the district in a major crackdown against decanting (illegal refilling of gas cylinders) on Saturday.

A district administration official said the crackdown was launched on the directions of the Punjab government to stop cylinder blast incidents.

Gujrat Assistant Commisioner Bilal Zubair led the crackdown in the tehsil in which 40 decanting stations were sealed in Gujrat city, Jalalpur Jattan city, Tanda and Kunjah areas. The team visited Qamar Sialvi Road, Alipura Road and GTS Chowk of the city and sealed a number of LPG cylinder refilling shops.

Talking to Dawn, he said that decanting stations and other materials were confiscated during the operation. However, those shops that only sold cylinders were not sealed, he added.

In Kharian tehsil, AC Ahmed Sher Gondal sealed 23 decanting shops with 15 shops sealed in Lalamusa and eight in Kharian city.

In Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil, a team led by AC Farooq-e-Azam sealed three decanting shops.

A senior official said the operation would continue in the urban and rural areas of the district and no one would be allowed to operate decanting shops.

Meanwhile, scores of decanting shop owners in Gujrat city lodged a strong protest against the crackdown. They said that they were ready to adopt safety SOPs.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2025