KATHMANDU, March 6: While the gas refill plants are being criticized for sending expired substandard cylinders to the market, Om Gas Industry has destroyed its old cylinders.
The refill plant destroyed old cylinders at the initiative of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology(NBSM), Department of Commerce Supplies and Consumer Protection ,Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC), and consumer rights activists on Sunday.
Hari Prasad Pathak, the owner of Om Gas Udhyog Pvt Ltd, said that cylinders that had failed the hydraulic test were cut and destroyed. According to Pathak, 559 cylinders have been destroyed. Pathak said that old cylinders were destroyed keeping in mind the safety of consumers.
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“Before filling the cylinders with gas, we conduct a hydraulic test,” Pathak said, “We destroyed the cylinders that failed the test.” He said that they are aware about accidents that must not occur due to gas cylinders used in the kitchen of consumers. “We are sensitive to complying with the safety standards of gas,” Pathak said, “We do not send gas cylinders that do not meet the standards to the market.”
Madhav Timilsina, president of Consumer Rights Investigation Forum, said that Om Gas, too, has done a good job by destroying cylinders that had expired and failed the test by paying attention to the safety of consumers. He said that Om Gas has fulfilled its commercial responsibilities. “Many substandard gas cylinders are still seen in the market,” said Timilsina, “Om gas has given a positive message by destroying old cylinders considering commercial responsibility.”
The refilling plant of Om Gas is located in Dhading. The capacity of this plant is 200 tons. Om has sent 0.2 million gas cylinders to the market. Pathak, the owner, said that the plant was fully automated.
“Using new technology, we have operated in full automation according to the standards,” he said, “Safety standards have also been adopted within the industry.”
While the safety of gas cylinders in the kitchen is being questioned due to recent gas cylinder explosions, Om has given a positive message by destroying old, expired gas cylinders, said Dipendra Kumar Jha, an officer of the NBSM “We have instructed every gas refilling plant to meet the standards,” Jha said, “Om followed the department's instructions.”
According to Nepal Oil Corporation, the cylinder should be tested for the first time in 10 years. It is believed that if it passes the test, it can be used for another 5 years. The cylinder can be used for another 3 years if it is found to be ok in the test conducted at this time, but if it fails the test in the meantime, it must be destroyed. As there is a danger if the cylinders get rusted it will result in leak due to various reasons, there is adeadline on each cylinder for testing it.
Some Om Gas cylinders had ‘B-26’ written on them. However, they were destroyed after failing the test. “Just because the cylinder has an expiration date does not mean that every cylinder is safe to use,” Pathak said.
