GUJRAT: More than 200 illegal industrial units are manufacturing substandard gas cylinders in Gujranwala – apparently the only city in the country with such a large number of these units.

The substandard material being used to manufacture these cylinders is a major cause of explosions. These cylinders filled with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are used domestically for cooking and commercially at restaurants, banquet halls or catering services. Public transport vehicles such as rickshaws, pick-ups, vans and buses also install LPG cylinders for fuel.

An official of the Road Transport Authority said that the LPG was a cost-effective and economical source of fuel for transporters as it allows more mileage than other fuels.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) is the only agency concerned that could issue a licence to a firm for manufacturing gas cylinders, and these legal manufacturers also can only supply cylinders to authorised companies possessing LPG marketing licences.

Authorities unable to check at least 200 illegal units manufacturing cylinders

As per law, only the LPG marketing company is the owner of a cylinder that has to be filled by the respective company through its transport network, as any kind of open decanting is strictly prohibited. However, in Gujranwala the business of illegal cylinder manufacturing has been going on for many years and the authorities have so far been unable to curb it.

There are around two dozen authorised manufacturers out of which at least three operate in Gujranwala city, and as per local sources, only one unit is following the specifications for raw material and other procedures.

The basic ingredient in manufacturing gas cylinders is a specific metal that is not available in the country since the closure of Pakistan Steel Mills; the licenced manufacturers were importing the metal from China. As per legal specifications, the minimum thickness of the metal should be around 2.5 millimetres. However, the illegal manufacturing units were using locally produced sheet of scrap drum, which does not meet the specifications, hence causing the cylinders to explode.

Usually, LPG marketing firms would get three kinds of cylinders manufactured – those with a capacity of 11.8 kilogrammes and 15kg for domestic consumers and 45kg for commercial purposes. However, the illegal manufacturers in Gujranwala were making cylinders with a capacity of 4kg to 6kg that would often explode.

A local manufacturer said that besides the usage of substandard material, the cylinders would often get damaged during manual loading and unloading on trucks instead of using lifters for the purpose. He said that every cylinder had to be tested after five years by its manufacturing company, adding the maximum age of a cylinder was not more than 25 years, but the illegally produced cylinders never go through such tests.

Also, open sale of a cylinder at shops or any unauthorised place was not allowed, but the locally produced cylinders were being sold openly with the authorities concerned unable to stop the practice so far.

Official sources said that in October 2018, Gujranwala’s district administration had launched a crackdown on illegal cylinder manufacturing units during which at least a dozen factories had been sealed in the Jinnah Road area, which was known for housing most of such units.

However, the manufacturers resumed their businesses a few weeks later, and none of these were registered with any tax collecting agency, causing a loss to the national exchequer as well as risking human lives. The sources added that the illegally produced cylinders in Gujranwala were available in the Kaghan and Naraan valleys also. They demanded that Ogra restrict the LPG marketing companies to maintain a record of customers and a complete ban on open decanting of cylinders was also the need of the hour.

Ogra used to issue testing certificates to the legal producers of cylinders after an annual inspection, which was also validated by a third party. The mills test certificate (MTC) carried various specifications of the required metal sheet which is composed of at least eight metals, said a manufacturer, adding that the illegal manufacturing units had inflicted a huge loss on those units following legal specifications. The illegal units had huge financial resources for restarting their businesses at scattered places whenever they were caught by the authorities, he added.

The manufacturer said the government should come up with a thorough strategy to uproot the menace of illegal manufacturing of gas cylinders, which had become a household item gradually keeping in view the shortage of natural gas. The substandard cylinders were no less than a bomb posing serious threat to families and travellers using local transport.

He said that an empty LPG cylinder still contained some sort of a liquid that too could cause a blast and if the marketing company refilled it, it could clear that remaining liquid which could not be ensured through open decanting.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2019