People must get respite from the deadly gas explosion
It is shocking that the lives continue to lose due to gas explosions in the country.
This time, the incident took place in Fatulla, Narayanganj; where five members of the same family were burnt in a gas explosion in a ground floor flat of an eight-story building on Sunday.
Among the burnt victims, head of the family Mir Kalam, died at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery the next day.
In another incident, at least 12 people suffered burn injuries in a gas explosion at the canteen of JERA Meghnaghat Power Plant in Sonargaon Upazila of Naranganj on Tuesday.
Media outlets, quoting Dr. Shawon Bin Rahman, resident surgeon at the National Burn Institute, said for the Sunday’s incident, Kalam had suffered 95 percent burns in his bodies.
Kalam’s wife Saima suffered 60 percent burns, his son Munna 30 percent, and his two daughters Katha 52 percent and Munni 35 percent burns.
It may be recalled that a similar explosion occurred in a mosque in this same Fatullah area on the night of September 4, 2020, killing 34 people in that accident.
Investigation revealed that the explosion occurred due to gas accumulation from an abandoned gas line under the mosque.
After the tragic accident, the Titas Gas authorities embarked on a drive to identify defects in gas lines.
Unfortunately, like other issues, the Titas authorities drive came to a halt when public discussion about this issue ceased.
Deaths due to fires caused by leaks or defects in gas lines are occurring at almost regular intervals in different parts of the country.
On June 27, 2021, a building in the capital’s Moghbazar exploded due to a faulty Titas gas pipe, killing 12 people.
In October 2019, seven children died in an explosion while filling balloons with gas from a vendor’s LPG cylinder.
However, no government authority properly maintains a complete record of all these explosions and deaths.
According to data released last year by the Fire Service and Civil Defense, 44 people have died and over a hundred have been injured in fires caused by gas line and cylinder explosions in the previous five years.
Nowadays, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as ‘cylinder gas’, has become quite popular in recent years due to the shortage of natural gas.
Due to faulty gas pipelines, substandard cylinders and the ignorance of the consumers regarding safe usage, it has become a kind of messenger of death for people in various cities including the capital.
People are practically living in a gunpowder heap.
Authorities must take steps to get people respite from these deadly incidents.
