Authorities turn bling eye to risks posed by gas chambers

KATHMANDU, Aug 23 Even as worn down machineries and inadequate preparations for potential accidents at sites that house gas chambers in the capital continue to pose high risk, efforts to draw the attention of the concerned government´s department to the issue has turned futile.



Demanding urgent attention to the problem, Civil Consumer Forum had handed over a letter last week to the Ministry of Industry, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Urban Development Ministry, Nepal Oil Corporation, Gas Industry Association and Environment Minister, among others, concerned bodies. [break]



The forum said that it has failed to get any serious response from the concerned offices despite repeated reminders.



"As the matter is too serious to be left unattended, we will continue to draw their attention on the issue,” he added.



The gas chamber site at Balaju Industrial Area poses serious risk as it stores maximum number of gas cylinders, according to Sahadev Gautam, president of the forum.

“They have not changed the machineries and updated their technologies since decades. If anything untoward happens, the explosion will affect areas that fall within 5 km diameter of the site,” said Gautam.

Shiva Ghimire, chairman of LPG Gas Industry Association, however, termed the worry as baseless. “Have you ever heard such cylinders exploding that way anywhere in the world? It is such a groundless matter,” he said. “It is just an overreaction.”

Ghimire informed that the country imports 10.4 million cylinders every month. Nepal has been importing LPG cylinders since 42 years.

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