BANGALORE: The recent LPG cylinder explosion in Sumanahalli seems to have had no effect on gas agencies across the city, which continue to store their stock on roads, pavements and any other open areas, while they arrange for them to be transported to customers. Also, private vendors store gas cylinders outside their shops, which are usually in the middle of busy market places, as a means to attract customers, without paying heed to the weather. While Hindustan Petroleum in its safety regulations states that LPG cylinders are to be kept away from rain, dust, heat and sunlight, these measures seem restricted only to the consumers. Agencies and private sellers throw caution to the wind in the way they treat these cylinders. The rationale behind such a dangerous practice is simple: the agencies are usually located far away and do not want to incur additional costs by hiring a truck to distribute cylinders to their customers. They offload them in batches in the areas they cover and then use smaller vehicles to distribute them.“We keep them here since our agency is far away, we can cover more ground this way,” said an employee of a gas agency on the condition of anonymity. The cylinders were placed in the middle of a small intersection in Cambridge Layout. In another instance, they were stored on the footpath, and people were forced to walk around them. “This is dangerous. Also, the way these cylinders are unloaded is scary. They just drop them from the truck into the sand,” said Ashok, a commuter. “It has become a nuisance. Pedestrians cannot use the footpath to walk, as the space is taken away by the gas agencies to store their LPG cylinders,” said Sukanya, a resident of Cambridge Layout.“In hot weather, the gas, which is pressurised, will expand and might cause leaks and it is an indication of the danger stored for common man,” said a senior official from the Fire Department. “We tried to create awareness about the matter a few months ago, but the residents of the area themselves did not support us, they wanted fast service instead,” he added, stating that gas companies must take the initiative of informing their dealers about the problem. Not only does such storage of cylinders pose an immediate threat, it also tends to damage the base of the cylinders in the long term and makes them prone to rust and leakage. Additionally, if such storage areas are not properly guarded, meddling with the gas cylinders is also extremely dangerous.
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