Economy
 
Respite from bomb blasts, Victim to cylinder blasts
Visits 48
Visits 48
Visits 48
    
December 23, 2011
Though the people of Pakistan have of late found some respite from the menace of terrorism, as there a marked decrease in the incidents of bomb blasts, suicide attacks and other terror incidents was noticed during the last quarter of 2011 yet they are being constantly bedeviled by ‘running bombs’ on roads.

The recurring incidents of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinder blasts in public transport vehicles have assumed alarming proportion, but those at the helm of affairs have kept them aloof from the issue, which is posing great risk to the live of the people. The sensitivity and gravity of the issue can be gauged from the fact that just during the initial 19 days of December, over 100 people have lost their lives in the incidents of cylinder blasts in public transports vehicles and several others have received burnt injuries.

Sources in CNG industry say that the cause of sharp rise in the incidents of CNG cylinder blasts was use of sub-standard, low quality CNG cylinders and kits.

Pakistan has topped the countries running vehicles on CNG in 2010 and it continue to leading CNG using countries with about 3 millions vehicles running on the natural gas. The country also has the largest numbers of CNG filling stations, around 4000 stations.

With the rising price of the petroleum products, majority of both public and private transport vehicles have switched to CNG as fuel. Though in recent times, the government have raised substantially the price of CNG, but it is still to be a economical fuel compared with petroleum products such as diesel, gasoline etc, hence the trend to switch over to CNG continues.

With such tilt towards CNG fuel by public and private vehicles, the government should have evolved a prudent, feasible and proper policy to regulate and check the trend with farsightedness and futurist approach.

But what have been modus operandi to deal issues, the authorities concerned kept them aloof, waiting for tragedies to happen, as those at the helm of affairs have never resorted to a proactive approach whatsoever the issue have been.

According to relevant rulers, the vehicle owners are bound use only imported and certified CNG cylinders in their vehicles

An officials of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), which is a regulatory body of gas sector, told this scribe that as per rules, the owners of CNG-fitted vehicle owners were bound to get the CNG system inspected at least once in a year from trained personnel.

He said that vehicle owners should get their vehicles converted to CNG from only valid and authorized licensees, which have been authorized by OGRA to convert vehicles to CNG at their respective facilities.

The owner should also use only the approved brands, imported, seamless CNG cylinders manufactured as per NZS 5454-1989 standard and satisfy themselves about their genuineness and fitness before installing it from the authorized CNG stations.

As per OGRA rules and directives, CNG kits could be installed in the vehicles from only authorized conversion workshop and centres. But despite the rulers, illegal and unauthorized CNG conversion centre and workshops were thriving across the country. Besides the illegal conversion centres, there are many illegal and unauthorized companies operating with impunity which produce substandard and low quality CNG cylinders and Kits.

According to an expert, these illegal companies are producing such cylinders by fabricating and welding two halves.

He pointed out that only seamless cylinders are used for CNG in vehicles.

He said that the CNG cylinder should be tested at least once in a year for examination of the cylinder, piping, CNG kit, all components, leakage testing as well as performance of the CNG system to ensure its safe operation. But, he said, the owners hardly observes these security measures.

The owners are violating the recommendation, using the sub-standard cylinders and putting aside all the precautionary measures.

As these illegal convention centres are thriving and operating everywhere with impunity, the relevant authorities, OGRA, provincial transport departments and Hydro Carbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP), are no where to check illegal business that have put lives of millions of commuters at risk.

They have failed to put in place a proper mechanism to check the quality of CNG cylinders or take action against workshops involved in the installation of substandard CNG cylinders in vehicles. They have turned a blind eye toward this issue and are taking no action despite the hazard posed to the public by these cylinders.

An official of the HDIP said the HDIP is under the obligation as per rules to check cylinders every five years after installation and issue fitness certificates.

“A majority of cylinder blasts occur due to inadequate capacity and such unfortunate explosions could be easily avoided if there are properly equipped cylinder-testing laboratories which conduct periodic CNG cylinder checks.”

He said that the has the facility to conduct cylinder tests, but according to the 1992 CNG rules the vehicles owners were bound to bring their vehicles in for testing. He said that regulations do not allow ordinary workshops to install CNG cylinder and kits as this remains the duty of CNG filling stations. “It is the responsibility of OGRA to take action against workshops which are installing substandard cylinders in vehicles,” he said.

An OGRA official said that the authority allow only CNG filling stations to install CNG cylinders and kits and no workshop or conversion centes have the authority to convert into CNG. According to a list prepared by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), CNG cylinders manufactured by some companies of good repute in Italy, China, India, Brazil, Dubai, Argentina and the United States are approved to be installed in vehicles.

OGRA is mandated to only identify illegal workshops and report the to the administration to take action against such illegal centres, the official said.

With the alarming rise in the CNG cylinders blasts, the regulator, ORGA, has woken up from the deep slumber and proposed a ban on CNG use in public transport vehicles instead of putting in place a proper mechanism to check the quality of CNG kits and cylinders.

In a letter, sent recently to Petroleum Ministry, it has proposed a ban on CNG in public vehicles in order to prevent fatal accidents as well as to ease gas shortage and improve gas pressure. The letter recommended that provincial governments take stern action against unauthorised and illegal CNG conversion workshops to ensure public safety.

“Ogra hopes that these measures will help control not only low pressure problems of gas but will also control CNG-related accidents in public transport vehicles,” the letter added.

Ogra’s Member Gas Mansoor Muzaffar said “a policy decision may be taken on urgent basis and filling of CNG in public transport vehicles including buses, coasters and wagons by CNG stations may be banned as accidents in vehicles are occurring due to unauthorised conversion and leakage of gas.”

He said people and industrialists were worried over shortage of gas and low pressure, which had also hurt economic development.

He suggested that private vehicles with more than one cylinder should also not be allowed CNG consumption and said a policy decision should be taken immediately.

Muzaffar also recommended that provincial governments should take stern action against unauthorised and illegal CNG conversion workshops to ensure public safety.

Secretary Petroleum Ejaz Chudhary said that the Ministry was seriously considering to completely ban use of CNG in public transport due to increasing accidents of cylinder blasts.

During a meeting to review the safety measures adopted by CNG-fitted public transport vehicles, which was attended by All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA), relevant Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) officials and others, he asked APCNGA members to stop refilling of CNG in public transports vehicles including vans and buses so that increasing incidents of cylinder blasts, which so far have claimed dozens of lives across the country, could be minimised.

It was decided in the meeting that no CNG would be provided to the suspected public service vehicles.

Chairman APCNG Paracha said that cylinder blasts in the public vehicles were caused by substandard cylinder and CNG kits, adding that the association has no authority to check all vehicles as it was not their responsibility to implement the rules and regulations. He further stated that Ogra had time and again directed the provincial transport authorities to close all unauthorised CNG cylinder fitting workshops being operated in streets.

Paracha said that involvement of multiple departments in dealing with the affairs of CNG was also one of the main reasons behind increasing incidents of CNG cylinder blasts. He said that at present his association has sufficient material to set up three laboratories, but Ogra, Ministry of Industries and other departments are not giving them clearance.

He said that the provincial transport authorities were issuing fitness certificates to old vehicles without adopting required procedure and this practice should be checked.

Though the government seriously considering to ban use of CNG in public transport vehicles, environmentalists have voiced concerned over the proposed decision. They argued that the regulatory body should perform its regulatory duties instead of proposing ban on the use of environmental friendly fuel.

Regarding the gas shortage, they said that the government should pay attention toward exploring gas as they country had enormous gas reserves.

An environmentalist said that about six million vehicles run across Pakistan and out of them almost half of the vehicles are being run on CNG. Despite that the air pollution continues to be a major concern in the country.

He said Lahore leads as the most polluted city, followed by Islamabad, the only properly planned city. Peshawar stands at No 3 regarding air pollution while Karachi comes at No 04. He urged the government to take the environmental degradation seriously and took immediate measures to control it instead of discouraging use of environmental friendly fuel.


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