SWABI: Decanting of LGP continues unchecked in the open market, posing serious threats to human lives.

According to the prescribed rules, decanting is prohibited, but the retailers indulge in the illegal practice as there is no official check.

“Yes, decanting is not permitted under the law, but we refill the LPG cylinders as people insist,” said a retailer in the district headquarters, requesting not to be named.

The retailers said due to peak winter and low gas pressure, the use of LPG had increased manifold, giving them handsome profits. They said per kilogramme LPG was charged at Rs120, but in far-flung areas people paid even more as they got filled small cylinders with LPG.

Zubair Ahmad of Maneri Bala village said: “In Maneri the retailers charge Rs140 per kg.”

Akhtar Ali of far-flung Pirtab village expressed similar views and demanded price control to facilitate the poor.

However, the small dealers argued that they purchased the LPG cylinders from the main dealers at high price, and thus had no option but to transfer the financial burden to the consumers.

“No one asks the dealers why they are selling cylinders at an increased price,” said a retailer in Maneri village.

The consumers in Palond and Shagai villages said they were experiencing low gas pressure since the advent of winter. Exploiting the situation, they added, the traders had increased prices of LPG, firewood and coal.

When contacted, officials of the district administration said open sale of LPG was not allowed and that they would take action against the retailers who were found involved in the decanting practice.

They said it was responsibility of the people to inform the officials concerned whenever they noticed the decanting in their areas.

NINE DRUG TRAFFICKERS HELD: The police arrested eight smugglers and recovered over nine kilogramme charas from them in different actions on Sunday.

Inspector Niaz Gul of Topi city police station said they recovered three kilogramme charas from a rickshaw during checking at the Shaheed Baba checkpost, and arrested Mohammad Younas, a resident of Ghazi, Haripur.

Similarly, the police recovered about six kilogramme charas from different regions of Topi and arrested Imtiaz Khan of Peshawar, Imran Khan of Mardan, and six local smugglers, and registered FIRs against them.

The police also recovered 1,300 gram heroin from the smugglers, he said.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2019