Household gas cylinders and leakages

Amidst the plight of the COVID-19, I would like to draw the attention of everyone towards an important issue of life and death – the leakage in household cooking gas. For years it has been heard that every 5 out of 100 gas cylinders are either having leakages or in poor condition, which leads to many accidents. From 2010 to 2014 every one out of sixth deaths in India is related to cooking gas explosion. In 2017-18 the death toll crossed 260 lives, which further came down to 100 in 2018-19.

Gas supply agencies make it dangerous as they throw the cylinders from trucks, causing severe damage to the metallic body. Adding to the issue is non-delivery of door-to-door service, besides charging an amount for the same.

Moreover, the new fibre made cylinders which are safer and lighter than the metallic ones developed by HPCL in 2019 are still not on roads. Though PMUY is a successful scheme in adding 5 crore households with cooking gas but somehow the safety measures are seemed to be lacking.

Through your daily, I would like to request or put down a complaint with the authorities concerned to look into the matter with a great deal of concern as it is attached to many human lives.

Rajat Paul,

Jorhat