Reducing gas cylinder explosions

Can you remember the tragic incident resulted in by a gas fire at a residential house in Uttara in 2016 that killed two innocent children along with his father, leaving the mother with severe burn injuries? Within a difference of only a few seconds, everything changed for this family when the mother lit the stove to make tea in the morning as the leaked gas exploded and took a heavy toll on their lives.

Such incidents are rather common in our country as fire incidents or accidents caused by gas/cylinder leakage has turned out to be an everyday affair. In the one hand, the incidents of this type of accidents are on the rise; on the other hand, the demand for gas connections in the residential buildings are increasing. According to information by industry sources, about 200 cylinder explosions occur in the country every year owing to lack of maintenance and reckless use of cylinders. In contrast, the demand for LPG is actually increasing as the number of residential buildings in the capital is on the rise.

Under such circumstances, it is not a good idea to allow fresh connections to the residential buildings as we don’t have sufficient gas in our reserves. According to a report, Bangladesh is left with only 11 Tcf of gas for consumption and the probability of increased gas production is very unlikely in the coming years. In such a backdrop, if the authorities concerned keep providing gas lines to the residential buildings, then we will be exhausting our natural gas in no time. To cope with this situation, LPG connections should be promoted and people should be encouraged to use LPG cylinders. But, that also comes with risk factors including the fear of explosions. The way forward in this regard is reticulated gas system.

Developed countries have already embraced this system as reticulated gas system is not only safe, but it offers myriads of other benefits as well. This is basically a system of piped network set up in a residential establishment, which supplies cooking gas directly to the hotplates in individual flats through a centralized gas bank facilitated at the ground floor of the building. The cylinders at the ground floor are run through two arms – active bank and standby bank. Usually, gas is supplied from the active bank through piped line to the flats from ground floor. When the active bank runs out of gas, then standby bank gets activated and the tenants are provided gas from standby bank. Upon information, when the retailer refills the active bank, standby bank is deactivated and gas is being supplied from active bank cylinders as usual. This way, uninterrupted supply of gas to the consumers are guaranteed in this system.

Reticulated system has so many perks. First of all, it is safe. Every now and then, we come across news of gas/cylinder explosion at residential flats claiming innocent lives. The rate of this kind of accidents is not abating. Reticulated gas system could be a good option to opt for reducing accidents caused by low-quality cylinders and leaked connections. Secondly, this system ensures uninterrupted gas supply to the inhabitants. We often have to suffer because of low supply of gas and it gets tough to cook food for the family members. With reticulated system in place, users will not have to worry about running out of gas supply as there will always be an alternative (standby bank) to ensure ceaseless supply of gas.

Thirdly, it will save people’s time and energy. People spend a considerable amount of money and time for bringing LPG cylinder from the market and lifting it to the upper floors. It is not only time-consuming, but also laborious. When you are using gas from reticulated gas system, customers will not have to go through all these hassles. Because, once you get connected to the central system (active bank), everything related to maintenance depends on the retailer or distributors.

Last but not least, it will enhance the look of your kitchen while minimizing the risks as well. As the user will not have to place the cylinder in the kitchen, they will get enough space in the kitchen, which can be used for other purposes. Moreover, the customer will not have to connect the cylinder to the stove using extra wires, insinuating that the risks of explosion from loose connection will get minimized to a great extent.

At a time, when experts are asking everyone to go steady on natural gas reserves and the incidents of gas explosions at residential buildings are increasing, it will be a sagacious step if the government and concerned authorities put emphasis on encouraging everyone to go for reticulated system, and concentrate on mapping out detailed plan and policies in this regard. Even policy should be formulated to make it mandatory for the developers and building owners to set up reticulated system while constructing high-rises.

This can help the government in another way. When the government is struggling to meet the gas supply demands of cross-sections of people, this could be a safe way to inspire people to use LPG cylinders. When more and more users will go for reticulated gas system, the demand for LPG will increase and an accretion in demand will automatically bring down the price of LPG cylinders.

Reticulated gas system is still not so popular in our country and even the consumers are not well informed about the pros of this system. If right policies and plans are devised, then it could benefit all the stakeholders including mass people. Especially when it comes to lessening the incidents of gas explosions and diversifying the usage of LPG, there is no better alternative to reticulated system in sight, at least for the time being.

The writer is a freelance columnist.