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ISLAMABAD: As the country is facing up to one billion cubic feet of gas shortage daily, majority of citizens are running for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) but due to high demand the markets are flooded with substandard and poor quality cylinders posing serious threat to life and property in case of any mishandling.
While the residents of urban areas have never faced such a prolonged low gas pressure, the usage of LPG is a relatively new phenomenon for most of them and one can see that most of the shops which sell heaters and other gas and electricity appliances are displaying various kinds of LPG cylinders prominently. "We have all kinds of cylinders having half a kilogramme to eight kilogramme capacity," said Shazad Hassan, a seller at Saidpur Road, Rawalpindi.
A buyer at a shop in Karachi Company, Islamabad, added that an eight kilogramme cylinder was available for Rs650 whereas lined next to it was six kg capacity cylinder costing Rs1,650.
"Just try to weigh each of them and you will have the answer to this price difference," the salesman at the shop said. "This is a certified cylinder and the other one we are just having because of market competition.
It is the price competition or lack of awareness among the consumers but due to the apathy of authorities concerned the sellers and the manufacturers are dealing in potential explosive devices.
Even those who fill the LPG cylinders are afraid of the new brands of cylinders available in the market as most of them are manufactured at small units in Gujranwala.
'These new varieties of cylinders are filled very carefully. Even we are afraid of them, Amir Abbasi, a LPG decanter in Islamabad said and added: 'What can we do is just check the valves and connections first and fill thecylinder up to 70 per cent of its capacity only.
He said in cylinders with eight kg capacity, they fill only up to six kg LPG to avoid accidents. "Any mishap with the cylinder is not just a small accident it is a blast," Amir Abbasi said. 'Then, the officials of different departments including police start coming to us and force us to shut down the business.
Incidentally, the whole chain engaged in selling LPG is worried about the massive sale of substandard cylinders and blame the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for failing to do anythingin this regard.
"This is like selling time bombs to every household," said Irfan Khokhar, the chairman of the LPG Distributors Association of Pakistan. "We have given files loaded with proofs that more than 350 units were making LPG cylinders in Gujranwala but Ogra has done nothing in this regard."
He said in case of any accident, the LPG distributors would file complaint against Ogra with the police station concerned.
There are only nine LPG cylinder manufacturers authorised by Ogra but after failing to compete with the unauthorised manufacturers, only two remain in the business.
On the other hand, Ogra spokesman told Dawn that the regulator had issued warnings and was trying to take action against such units but other departments were not cooperating with it.
"All such actions against illegal manufacturing units can be taken with the support of police," the spokesman said and added: "The written reply received from the police and provincial home department is that such a move would create protests leading to law and order situation in Gujranwala city."
With the authorities entangled in official file work, a very large number of substandard cylinders are being produced and sold across the country everyday.
