Bahawalpur tragedy: Shell ordered to pay Rs10m penalty, Rs240m in compensation to victims' families
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Holding Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) responsible for the Ahmedpur Sharqia incident, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has imposed a penalty of Rs10 million on SPL and has additionally ordered it to pay Rs1m each to the families of the deceased and Rs500,000 each to the injured victims of the incident.
In its report on the oil tanker accident at Ahmedpur Sharqia, Ogra has stated that although the oil tanker had been outsourced, the responsibility of maintaining standards lay with Shell since it was the licensee of Ogra.
According to Ogra's three-member committee, the tanker did not meet the technical standards required to carry 50,000 litres of petrol and it did not meet the regulations of Ogra and the Department of Explosives. Additionally, the tanker was carrying a fake fitness certificate.
The Ogra report attributed the ignition of fire to a lack of awareness among the general public and the lack or delay in response from the local government and motorway police to cordon off the area.
The SPL also failed to submit a detailed report, only submitting a short preliminary one.
The report recommended greater vigilance regarding safety standards for oil marketing companies (OMC), also asking them for a "timeline action plan for conversion of tank lorries of their contractor/haulier to the applicable safety laws and regulations".
It recommended the Oil Companies Advisory Committee to ensure an aggressive campaign to make the public aware of hazards, and the local governments and departments to revisit their plans for patrolling and quick response.
Incident and aftermath
The death toll from the Bahawalpur oil tanker explosion climbed to 214 on Thursday, according to medical sources.
Apart from more than 150 people killed immediately in the fire, more than 100 people had suffered burn injuries in the incident which took place on June 25.
They had been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital in Ahmedpur Sharqia, Nishtar Hospital in Multan, Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur and Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.
The disaster occurred when a tanker carrying 40,000 litres of fuel overturned after trying to make a sharp turn while travelling from Karachi to Vehari on the main highway, and hundreds of residents of a nearby village gathered to collect the leaking fuel.
“After about 10 minutes the tanker exploded in a huge fireball and enveloped the people collecting petrol. It was not clear how the fire started,” a police official said at the time.
The cause of the fire has not been made official yet, but it is believed that a spark from the many cars and motorcycles that raced to the scene may have ignited the fuel. Firefighters fought the flames for over two hours before extinguishing the fire.
Motorway policemen Taqqi Haider and Muhammad Irfan, along with the driver of the oil tanker, had tried to stop people from gathering around the overturned vehicle.
They also used a public address system to order them to vacate the site.
In a statement recorded to the police shortly before he passed away on Wednesday, Gul Muhammad, the driver of the tanker, confirmed that he had tried his best to stop people from gathering around the heavy vehicle but no one had paid attention.
Sources in the Motorway Police earlier told Dawn that the tanker had turned over after a sleep-deprived Gul Muhammad dozed off while driving the vehicle.
National Highway and Motorway Police authorities on Thursday suspended six officers, including a deputy superintendent of police, for negligence and keeping their senior officers in the dark (when the oil tanker overturned and caught fire).
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a four-member inquiry committee to investigate the inferno.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the victims of the tragedy on Monday and told reporters that the government would provide jobs to those who were injured in the explosion and relatives of the affected families.
He vowed that the incident would be thoroughly investigated and those found guilty of dereliction of duty would be punished. He said, "We have to look at the condition of the tanker."
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On DawnNews
Comments (118) Closed
Jul 07, 2017 01:59pm
"The Ogra report attributed the ignition of fire to a lack of awareness among the general public and the lack or delay in response from the local government and motorway police to cordon off the area." These are the real culprits but as always in the land of the pure, they get away with not even a warning, corruption zindabad!!
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Jul 07, 2017 02:02pm
Good, Shell should be fined for transporting fuel in vehicles which are not fit for purpose. They should also compensate the families of the deceased, who are also to be partly blamed for endangering their lives.
What I am against is why is the government also compensating the bereaved, when they do not have resources to manage their own budget.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:02pm
Are you kidding me? That is in USDollars a joke. 500,000 divided by today's rate equals $4723.67. The fine is also much too low. It needs to be in the trillions of Pakistan Rupees. Where is the human compassion?
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Jul 07, 2017 02:03pm
Such a shameful decision by ogra ,putting there on responsibilities on some marketing company isnt the appropriate way to find out the solution and compensate the victims.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:04pm
No responsibility of any official of the government? Shall could not be absolved but where are the others from government who failed to prevent such a catastrophe?
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Jul 07, 2017 02:04pm
Rs 10 million is a ridiculously low amount for the horrendous loss of life that the petrol explosion caused. The shell oil company should be sued for at least $10 million plus ordered to issue a public apology to families of all those who died
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Jul 07, 2017 02:09pm
We always find a way to put the blame on others. The people who were busy siphoning off the oil from the tanker are to blame and no one else as they were well aware of the consequence.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:12pm
Decision is seems to be washing hands.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:20pm
10 m is a joke thats why it is always believed that here in Pakistan such big entities are protected, had it been any other country like western or suadi arabia the shell would had been banned or heavily penalized like paying 10 m to a single death owing to this tragedy.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:25pm
No one else is more responsible of the incident than the people who were collecting oil from the tanker. And indeed the fitness certificate whether original or fake doesn't matter in Pakistan because even the original one you can take without inspection by paying mere 500 rupees under the table.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:25pm
First stop the still running tankers/vehicles with identical lapses ....................Ogra !
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Jul 07, 2017 02:26pm
Has anyone imposed penalty on government for not educating people and how to handle hazard material?.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:26pm
Only 10M? It's peanuts for Shell.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:27pm
OGRA should be responsible to give license to such organisation to not meet the standards....
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Jul 07, 2017 02:41pm
Pak Govt and its dept act like teachers of a primary school.
why was this not checked by OGRA earlier whether or not the requisites are met prior tankers getting on road, rather prior loading the oils ?.
what's the point in arm twisting now when we had lost about 200 lives, human lives not cattles. OGRA must be penalised and put all oil tankers / oil loading facilities / vendors / purchasers / their management under standard security measures with immediate effect and give them 1 month notice period to adhere to these regulations else cancel their license and close that premises which is not in line with OGRA standards... similarly, Govt ( if at all exists ) should put on notice all transport co on notice to improve standards of their lorris/ vehicles/ transporting units / logistics securities, features to meet the standards in order to avoid such heinous acts in future...
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Jul 07, 2017 02:42pm
Too little, too late.. RIP victims..
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Jul 07, 2017 02:47pm
is this compensation for those who were looting and stealing?
However, I am hearing complete different version. Shell Pakistan Ltd version is that the vehicle which actually belongs to Marwat Enterprises was fitted with a tracker and it shows that the tanker was driving at 35 km/h, which is reasonably very safe speed. A passenger bus overtook the tanker and tried to stop in front. The tanker driver trying to avoid the collision drifted left on the soft shoulder of the road which resulted in the roll-over of the vehicle. This doesn't indicate that the driver was sleeping
Anyway, it seems a long legal battle. Rs10 million and additionally Rs1m each to the families of the deceased and Rs500,000 each to the injured will be on hold for years to come.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:48pm
Okies, but who asked them to collect petrol from the tanker which fell accidentally? Can ogra summon those greedy loosers?
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Jul 07, 2017 02:48pm
Peanuts peanuts peanuts, less than half a day's income for Shell.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:49pm
Very good decision to impose penalty. Major portion of this money should be distributed amongst the affected families. Also strict rules should be enforced to prevent such happenings in the future.
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Jul 07, 2017 02:57pm
I remember people who stayed away from buying gas at Shell for their business with the racist government og South Africa. The point is, these international companies are pure profit driven care less for the local people. It is the countries them selves which must protect their citizens. 1 million rupees are nothing in inflation driven Pakistan of 2017, such a small amount for a lost life. It is not even 10.000 dollars for each list life.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:07pm
action needs to also be taken against the sub contractor, in future all such drivers carrying such hazardous cargo should be checked for sleep deprivation. This accident was entirely preventable, someone should go to jail for it.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:07pm
They'll make it back in less than a day in Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:09pm
So petrol thieves will be handsomely rewarded? This judgement makes no sense. The people stealing petrol from the tanker are equally responsible for this tragedy.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:10pm
More incidents of similar nature have been reported. OGRA must ensure that two drivers carry the oil and take turns to sleep/rest. Also the trailer should be examined quarterly.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:11pm
This is what government/its authorities does in south asia, Put blames to private entities
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Jul 07, 2017 03:17pm
Sure it gets fined for not following regulations and the resulting spill. But surely it cannot be solely held responsible for what happened to victims? Others, like the police, for not following protocol, Ogra, for not ensuring standard are upheld, the department for vehicle fitness certification, the department for maintenance of roads, driver/owner for slacking on driving guidelines, all share responsibility. But the biggest part was all that plus lack of education and poverty, both of which have other unacceptable causes for failure.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:22pm
@Saif you cannot really put a price on such a tragedy, but 10 million in addition to 1 million for all deceased clearly takes the total over 200 million.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:34pm
Why should company pay?
people are to be blamed for, its wrong that appeasement politics is so common among politicians especially in south asia.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:34pm
It was due to unethical behaviour of the mob who was taking petrol from the tanker
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Jul 07, 2017 03:37pm
Why deceased families are being paid so much doesn't make sense at all? People are being encouraged to take more such risks in future.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:39pm
What Shell got to do with it ???
Who issued the fake fitness certificate? Who use the fake fitness certificate
CASE CLOSE On these two questions
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Jul 07, 2017 03:41pm
@asad "the shell would had been banned or heavily penalized like paying 10 m to a single death owing to this tragedy" Why Shell should be penalized for irresponsible act of local people in fact Shell should ask for compensation for torching their vehicle and stealing their oil
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Jul 07, 2017 03:42pm
@naseem ahmad
These people should not be compensated. The government is rewarding people for stealing and disobeying the police, who warned them to vacate the area.
As far as Shell Pakistan, It is not their fault that 200+ people took such risk and suffered the consequences. Their liability is limited to the the OGRA penalty. And please note it is governments responsibility to ensure that the vehicle has a valid and genuine fitness certificate
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Jul 07, 2017 03:43pm
Why Shell ?
Why not the owners of the vehicle ?
Why not the Driver (if still alive) as he was overspeeding ?
Why not those who prompted the people to collect petrol from the scene of the incident ?
Why not the local authorities who did not cardon off the area ?
Why not the traffic police who never take notice of overspeeding vehicles ?
It is easy to blame foreign multinational companies as we as a nation are biased towards foreign countries, especially western.
Nearly everyday in Pakistan there is a road accident involving public transport, especially buses and wagons because (1) there is no check on speed (2) there is no system of annual vehicle check up and fitness and (3) there is no traffic sense among the people.
Do not try to milk Shell. This is a local problem involving our own people and must be corrected locally.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:48pm
What Pakistani government need to do is enact tough laws and more importantly enforce it. The lackluster approach will only lead to horrific disasters like this. I am still in the grip of shock of this incident. So many innocent lives lost in such a horrific manner.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:48pm
@ahmed Cruel, but very true.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:53pm
lolz.....so Shell have to compensate those who were trying to steal their oil due to the road accident. I wonder if there is no fire then would they take back the oil from so called victims? Yes....I agree that Shell should be penalize for not maintaining the standard but compensating the looters is the hypocrisy. Also, the traffic authority and the city management should be penalize for not performing their job. If they could have just seal the site, we could have saved many lives.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:56pm
Total amount of penalty on Shell: USD 2.5 million! That is not even pocket change for a company that size!
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Jul 07, 2017 03:57pm
Dear Public, express sadness, outrage, frustration, and a whole range of emotions, some justified some unjustified, in the end much will be said and nothing will be done. That is the reality of Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2017 03:59pm
This nation and its people, and the government all seem to have hypocrisy as their staple.....the fact is that the government has to give no compensation to anybody because it was the greed of ordinary people that is the real culprit......everybody knows that fuel is highly combustable and inflammable...common sense dictates for safety to stay away from such dangerous situation as an upturned oil tanker....but the greed got the better of the people....indeed the area should have been cordoned off, etc......so the moral of the story is that we need schools and education and moral awareness more than hi-ways and freeways that this incompetent government is trying to push...rather, build schools, teach people basic manners of how to live civic life, how to conduct everyday affairs of public life as decent human beings.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:04pm
The Government has already given Rs.2 million to the family of each deceased and 1 million to each injured person (who was collecting oil that was not their property). Instead of paying to the affected, Shell should pay this amount to the Government.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:06pm
@Corlis Lee Dees II President Chair true but did Shell asked dumb people to collect fuels from its turned over vehicle. Peole were trying to steal petrol from the tanker. In muslim countries what is the punnishment for stealing?
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Jul 07, 2017 04:08pm
@Ahsan Mohiuddin Money for what stealing petrol from a turned over tanker.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:08pm
Daily approximately over 15,000 oil tankers are on the road. Since the Ahmad Pur Sharqia episode at least 5 or 6 similar accidents (of oil tankers slipping off road) have taken place - though without any loss of life. What's going on? What is being done to address this?
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Jul 07, 2017 04:14pm
I would say after the Incident happened responsibility lies heavily on much celebrated Rescue team and Motorway police. What about spreading awareness when people k ow that petroleum product is valuable commodity used in cars motor cycles etc them surely them also know that it is inflammable. When are talking about people from lost tribe of Amazon. It is not about awareness but about governance, management and compliance. The top most thing is socio economic condition of our country men that induces them to take such risks.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:14pm
Shell ? why shell - the ppl died because of the negligence and greed to stealing the oil - I don't want to offend anyone but that is the hard reality, unfortunately.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:15pm
scapegoating a private entity is easy. Millions for the victims of bahawalpur tragedy, but what about the Parachinar victims? Is the government penalizing itself for security failure?
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Jul 07, 2017 04:17pm
@naseem ahmad "fit for purpose" - it was an accident as the driver was trying to save the van which overtook it wrongly.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:17pm
Not just decision, had the SHELL asked the people to come and take bath in petrol and eventually burn themselves .?
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Jul 07, 2017 04:25pm
@Sal The more greedy people become the lesser are chances to elect honest legislators. This moral situation suits the corrupt dwellers within the power corridors of Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:30pm
Why Shell has to pay.Govt should have been taken the responsibility because it did not teach to the poor public for the basic knowledge of the dealing of fire hazardous.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:32pm
Should orga also catch and punish all the government officials involved issuing the fake vehicle license.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:36pm
Shell will no be blackmailed into paying off these officials so as to escape the fine. Everything is turned into corruption opportunity in Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:40pm
I am confused , families shouldn't get any money as they became greedy to get free gasoline from the truck knowing that it's leaking and gasoline is flammable , u hot burned because of your own stupidity, it's s that this tragedy happend , I personally have no sympathy to burned ones as they chose to steal gasoline
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Jul 07, 2017 04:40pm
Many areas missed:
1. Other responsible government department missed
2. Transporter Marwat group not touched
3. Future preventive measures totally ignored
4. Periodic audits to ensure compliance of OGRA rules
5. Truck drivers rest cycle & their periodic health screening
and many more
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Jul 07, 2017 04:41pm
penalty of such a disaster is just equivalent to value of some high rise plot or bungalow...wow
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Jul 07, 2017 04:43pm
250 millions PKR cost of innocent Pakistanis
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Jul 07, 2017 04:47pm
In desi language - Rs. 25 crore. Bass?? Peanuts for Shell, not that they are going to pay a dime.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:47pm
It happens only in Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:54pm
@Corlis Lee Dees II President Chair
it is 250 millions collectively, my dear! Obviously not a joke in rupees.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:55pm
I am amazed at some of the comments. I don't even think to much of Shell. But how is Shell responsible? Not their driver, not their truck, not their certification, not their police to warn the people, neither did they invite people to stop and steal petrol and neither did they manufacture the cigarette, the match that lit the cigarette, not the shop that sold them. All shell did was hire a company to transport oil. That company is responsible for the accident and safety standards and the fake certificate. The guy who threw the cigarette is responsible for the deaths.
Another point don't try and steal what's not yours!
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Jul 07, 2017 04:57pm
Shell is responsible if there were fuel transportation and safety standards that were no followed.
Police or other departments are responsible for not blocking the area and putting danger signs.
People are responsible for taking someone else property and not listening to the driver.
Govt is responsible for not having OSHA standards and enforcing them on fuel, hazardous material and chemical transportation or storage.
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Jul 07, 2017 04:59pm
What about the company that made the cigarette and the company that made the matchstick. They should also be responsible. Because we must compensate those who were so greedy and stealing petrol from a hazardous site despite warnings!
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Jul 07, 2017 05:00pm
The amount of fine is too meager; nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But, then who cares for these abjectly poor worthless, meaningless souls and why?
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Jul 07, 2017 05:01pm
There should be some protocols to follow like police actions and company invlovement so that at least these event don't happen again.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:02pm
Peanuts 25 million US dollar fine for over 200 deaths. Is OGRA on Shell's side.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:02pm
Every truck driver as well as companies running those trucks should get fined too. Because it was not the Shell which went brutal but the greed invited death.
Ogra's biased decision is a foolish act.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:03pm
@Corlis Lee Dees II President Chair: Is this amount of $4723.67 not enough a reward for stealing?
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Jul 07, 2017 05:06pm
Pakistani should show respect to OGRA for showing the world they have both teeth and spine by punishing Shell
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Jul 07, 2017 05:28pm
@ From USA S.A.Hyder, Ph.D. If you pick up something on the street or in the garbage, Do you call it stealing? The tankers was leaking on a public road and there were puddles of gasoline all around the truck. If they had not picked up , it would have evaporated any way. I don't cal;l it stealing.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:34pm
@naseem ahmad this is not a reply to you, but agreement with your statement. There seems to worthwhile enquiry. The local adminstration including police to be hauled up and punished apart from whatever compensation to be given.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:35pm
Fault is of local govt not shell as any tanker can have an accident. Its just an eyewash to take it away frm local govt and their lack of response and ill treatment facilities.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:45pm
This one tragedy exposes to the fullest the extent of what is wrong in the land of 'pure': ignorance, lack of education, no sense of responsibility for self and others, no safety standards, no oversight, insensitivity to public life and private property, and list goes on. Instead of announcing financial compensation for injured and dead, it would have been better to force the culprits to finance the setting up of an educational institution at Ahmadpur Sharqia for education and training every aspect of safety standards, equipment requirements, safe vehicle design(s), etc., etc. That would have been a positive long term 'investment' in addition to erecting a memorial for the dead (despite their own shortcomings due to which they burnt dead). This would have also set a precedence for other such unfortunate mishaps in setting up similar educational and training institutions-cum-memorials. Instead of wasting money for merely PR, it is better to set up a source of lasting public service.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:46pm
Strange country. So we decided to whip someone who was taken advantage of to compensate the looters. Those 250 people were thieves who jumped on the opportunity without caring for their lives and hence paid the price. Instead of compensating them, we should spend the same money on educating people, improving roads network and increasing policing & patrolling capabilities of depts concerned.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:50pm
Why has been OGRA sleeping and letting oil companies get away with substandard transportation. It should carry half the blame for not being able to implement and execute its safety policy through the oil company. The other overriding factor is the sheer destruction of railway cargo system to benefit a cartel of road transporters who endanger lives of citizens with unqualified drivers, dilapidated trucks and lorries and no citizen band communication. In the past such volumes of inflammables were always carried by the 'maal gari'.
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Jul 07, 2017 05:53pm
Shell will in turn increase the price per liter of petrol by a miniscule amount to get all the compensation money back from the common people in just a few days time. The Pakistani public will be paying for this in the end, whether it be Government compensation money or Shell compensation money.
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Jul 07, 2017 06:11pm
Tanker company should be disbanded
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Jul 07, 2017 06:13pm
OGRA is biased!
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Jul 07, 2017 06:25pm
@hamid shafiq How are the people stealing the proprty of others innocent?
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Jul 07, 2017 06:27pm
Shell is partly responsible for filling up an un road worthy tanker with fuel. The people are also partly responsible for not heeding warnings and for stealing petrol.
The best compensation would have been if the Government had ordered Shell or if Shell had come forward to build a "state of the art" burns unit or hospital or build a few good schools to educate children.
Instead of penalizing Shell and rewarding people who stole, the families of the victims could have been given some type of training and jobs in the hospitals, and the children of the families given free education in the schools. Just my view..
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Jul 07, 2017 06:31pm
They are taking the easy target. Shell is responsible for the tank tradegy and it should pay the fine to the government for not meeting the standards. as far as lives are concerned this is their own mistake and no compensation should be given to the victims. Greed over took them.
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Jul 07, 2017 06:34pm
@Mashman .....
I agree with what you say. That's how I feel also.
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Jul 07, 2017 06:43pm
Good as usual, blame foreigners for our own faults and in-efficiencies. What were the local authorities doing ?.
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Jul 07, 2017 06:45pm
Fine the oil company but what about the local police and even the other emergency services. I live in England and if anything like this happened there, police and fire dept would be the first ones on the scene. Police would cordon off the whole area and fire engines would be ready to tackle any fire that might happen. I think POLICE should had cordoned off the area so general public wasn't allowed in the danger zone!
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Jul 07, 2017 06:58pm
some sense finally. Why the areas wasnt cordoned off to the extent that in case of fire no one is hurt, no guard was placed to keep people from away from the tanker to risk their lives for the loot, why measures were not taken to transfer of the oil safely and transport through another tanker, why arrangements were not made to put the fire off in case of fire. Ideally the roads on both side should have been shut until the tanker was to be moved. In London about 70 people died of fire in the 20 plus residential tower, and the local administrator resigned immediately. Well! here nearly 200 deaths and no one has moved, except for announcement of some bucks by the government. This shows the cost of life so cheaper as compared to the cost living
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Jul 07, 2017 06:58pm
The fine should be more like $250 million
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Jul 07, 2017 07:00pm
Shell is not responsible for the death of the victims. Those people should have better sense to stay away from the liquid petroleum. The OGRA is taking the easy way out to appease the public. In this case really no one deserves any compensation. The charitable organizations and the huge zakat fund shall be used to help the families of the victims instead.
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Jul 07, 2017 07:08pm
A misplaced responsibility.
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Jul 07, 2017 07:12pm
May be I am too harsh here, where is the responsibility of the people? Weren't they supposed to be away from such a dangerous situation where there is highly inflammable substance on the ground. It is a sad thing that these people lost their lives however some blame goes to them too for risking their lives in stealing something that was not theirs.
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Jul 07, 2017 07:23pm
Shell would be responsible if they used a vehicle without a certificate. If the certificate was fake the owner of the tanker is responsible. If it was genuine then he greased palms to get it which is most likely the case. There is no way Shell will pay. It will create a bad precedent for any future cases. Ogra just wants some face saving hence the amount is so low.
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Jul 07, 2017 07:25pm
The government should impose a penalty on itself for failing to educate people about safety, not providing adequate energy needs of people and lack of safety inspections enforcement on large commercial vehicles, not to mention terrible road conditions.
The main blame still goes to the looters and victims who were engaged in a very risky act.
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Jul 07, 2017 07:50pm
Good. Safety first. Whoever doesn't care about public safety shall be punished.
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Jul 07, 2017 08:25pm
There are millions of such unfit oil tankers still running on the roads of Pakistan. These oil tankers don't meet the technical standards required to carry big amounts of petrrol. Plus there are other vehicles that are not fit to carry passengers. Please pay attention to this problem as well. Just ten million rupees fine on shell is not enough. Impose this fine in dollars please. Thanks
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Jul 07, 2017 08:28pm
Great, now we also need rules and safety regulation on tin foil made cars. Slight accident and the whole car gets crushed like an empty can. We have lost so many precious lives due to mismanagement and poor substandard cars.
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Jul 07, 2017 08:52pm
Dear Ogra
absolutely correct on imposing fine on the Oil co. it is their responsibility to maintain standards of the oil tanker.
my question is what have you done to impose this?
rescue took more than an hour to reach the location, who do you put the blame on or that.
imposing fines and putting blames is not your only job.
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Jul 07, 2017 10:49pm
Motorway police has the highest negligence in this case and nobody dares to put finger against them, shell should be penalise for not maintaining standards but how they are liable to families when government has already compensated and what they are paying for is the negligence of motorway police.
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Jul 07, 2017 11:07pm
Good decision.
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Jul 08, 2017 12:27am
I think this is totally unfair. Shell should not pay a dime. Shell did not invite these 200 odd people to come and steal the spilt petrol from the tanker and get burnt alive. Shell should fight this in the international court. The corrupt government who should be paying for creating such poverty in the country that drives people to take such actions.
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Jul 08, 2017 12:34am
Where are Shell's international safety standards??? Is it different for poor countries. Shame.
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Jul 08, 2017 12:35am
The incident was very sad but the culprit was not the oil company. The tanker met an accident and the people congregated to get fuel that did not belong to them. They then started to punch holes into the tanker with hammers that caused sparks and ultimately the explosion. So the government went ahead and doled millions of dollars to the families of deceased and injured. The question is why and with whose permission? and now they are blaming the oil company. There were no injuries that were caused as a direct result of the accident that the tanker met.
Until when will this go on? The Pakistani nation needs to wake up before the nation ceases to exist. There is not much time left.
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Jul 08, 2017 12:41am
@Corlis Lee Dees II President Chair : Human compassion for what? Where is the good sense and justice? How are those who ran to loot the fuel entitled to millions of rupees? The nation has been turned into a nation of beggars and looters. Why should anyone get a single paisa without earning it? Let us see you showing compassion by giving a little bit of your money to those affected.
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Jul 08, 2017 01:06am
I pray to God deceased souls rest in peace. Its very tragic incedent, it looks so terribly bad that humans Suffered such a horrendous end.
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Jul 08, 2017 01:16am
So Shell is fined for the people who were killed while stealing the fuel , which clearly did not belong to them. What a country.
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Jul 08, 2017 02:02am
@Corlis Lee Dees II President Chair . I am really disappointed that life in Pakistan is worth less than 10,000 dollars while in US it's worth over a million dollars. Is our blood color the same or different. OGRA is cheating our people by lowering their value. Good deal for Shell.
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Jul 08, 2017 02:07am
@Jaba jaba Very True. Since police comes under Punjab Government, very clever to shift blame on the company.
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Jul 08, 2017 03:15am
relax..this was Darwin at work.
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Jul 08, 2017 04:45am
Look at what BP had to pay for oil spill over in usa ,it does not matter it was USA, local business interest is always local.
Where is SECP for corporate social responsibilities....
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Jul 08, 2017 05:21am
This amount of money looks like a joke for this crime
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Jul 08, 2017 05:23am
But Shell will try to put the blame on someone else, they have done in past and will do again.
Their lawyers make money alongwith Sell International
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Jul 08, 2017 05:46am
Simple reason... Greediness of the people to get fuel (for that matter anything ) at free of cost. To save few rupees they lost their lives. In India also within few days of Bahawalpur incident similar fuel tanker capsized. People rushed with vessels to take "FREE" fuel. Police chased them away. Luckily no fire accident took place. Fact of the matter is "WE ARE GREEDY"-"WE ARE TO BE EDUCATED".
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Jul 08, 2017 07:32am
Why shoulld Shell be made to pay compensation to people who were actually stealing petrol from a tanker which capsized?? We are compensating thieves!
Yes its fair to put a penalty on Shell for an unfit vehicle but also go around and get the millions of tankers to fix all safety issues..
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Jul 08, 2017 07:52am
In fact the culprit is the musician who's music the driver was listening while driving! The Shell is unnecessarily blamed.
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Jul 08, 2017 08:04am
The police should also be fined as they have failed to cordon off the area.
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Jul 08, 2017 08:58am
The amount is insignificant for a company like Shell and they may pay as well.
But Govt should also hold other departments like transport , local police .
Shell can be penalized but not as soft target.
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Jul 08, 2017 10:35am
And who will be fined & punished for keeping people illiterate and poor who run to collect Petrol from a overturned tanker? Who will be punished not to stop crowd?
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Jul 08, 2017 02:27pm
It is not fair to put blame on few when the whole nation is apathetic. Whole nation should take responsibility. We are failing as a nation whether it is oil tanker explosion or mob Lynching. For every such incidences we should panelty on every person in this country. The dent on pocket is the only thing people in this country really feel now worth taking action.
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Jul 10, 2017 02:15pm
Though the tanker did crash. But stealing the oil is a crime!!!!
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