TWO people were hurt when the gas cylinder of a car exploded at a CNG filling station at Khulshi in Chittagong on Monday. The accident happened when the car was refuelling. The faces and shoulders of the two victims were hit by flying debris from the blast. The explosion also caused some damage to the car, as per a report of a local daily.
There were holes on the boundary walls of the CNG station and a nearby building. Locals said debris from the blast ripped through them. However, police found that only two people were hurt. Shamsul Alam, Chief Inspector of the Department of Explosives, said that they were investigating to find out the exact reason behind the explosion, as per the report.
Many CNG run vehicles run the risk of such blasts as they continue to use cylinders beyond their expiry date. While one would suppose that owners of expensive cars would go all out to protect their valuable capital investment and get the cylinders checked every few years – it seems that it may not be occurring in as regular a manner as one would hope. The necessity of ensuring a safe drive rests primarily with the owner of the vehicle used for transport – whether it be a car, bus, truck or any other small and medium size vehicle which is used in transportation.
While everyone got off with relatively minor injuries in this particular case, if the situation had involved a truck or bus the outcome might have been very different. Buses hold far more people than cars and trucks can contain valuable goods which are being shipped. Such an incident, in another location, could very well have resulted in a tremendous loss of life or property.
So what can be done about such accidents? Primarily the government could make it mandatory for owners of CNG run vehicles to ensure that they check their cylinders on an annual or other basis for viability. Failure to do so could result in fines and even appropriation of vehicles until they are checked. But implementing the regulation would be burdensome. The government does not have the required manpower level to individually check all forms of transport.
BRTC should have been able to provide necessary information about safety of CNG when checking fitness. This could be one way of implementing the rule. But our government has failed to ensure the various authorities to act responsibly towards the people. The unscrupulous bureaucrats are anxious to keep the people helpless and fearful of the government and the result is in many areas the greedy government functionaries are very active in using their power for corruption and personal gains. No free country can live with so much unaccountability of the government officials and feel safe and secure.
There were holes on the boundary walls of the CNG station and a nearby building. Locals said debris from the blast ripped through them. However, police found that only two people were hurt. Shamsul Alam, Chief Inspector of the Department of Explosives, said that they were investigating to find out the exact reason behind the explosion, as per the report.
Many CNG run vehicles run the risk of such blasts as they continue to use cylinders beyond their expiry date. While one would suppose that owners of expensive cars would go all out to protect their valuable capital investment and get the cylinders checked every few years – it seems that it may not be occurring in as regular a manner as one would hope. The necessity of ensuring a safe drive rests primarily with the owner of the vehicle used for transport – whether it be a car, bus, truck or any other small and medium size vehicle which is used in transportation.
While everyone got off with relatively minor injuries in this particular case, if the situation had involved a truck or bus the outcome might have been very different. Buses hold far more people than cars and trucks can contain valuable goods which are being shipped. Such an incident, in another location, could very well have resulted in a tremendous loss of life or property.
So what can be done about such accidents? Primarily the government could make it mandatory for owners of CNG run vehicles to ensure that they check their cylinders on an annual or other basis for viability. Failure to do so could result in fines and even appropriation of vehicles until they are checked. But implementing the regulation would be burdensome. The government does not have the required manpower level to individually check all forms of transport.
BRTC should have been able to provide necessary information about safety of CNG when checking fitness. This could be one way of implementing the rule. But our government has failed to ensure the various authorities to act responsibly towards the people. The unscrupulous bureaucrats are anxious to keep the people helpless and fearful of the government and the result is in many areas the greedy government functionaries are very active in using their power for corruption and personal gains. No free country can live with so much unaccountability of the government officials and feel safe and secure.
