OGRA Warns People Not to Ply Their Vehicles with LPG Cylinders

Taking serious notice of the growing incidents of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder blasts in various parts of country, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has again issued strict warning to the violators. 

According to an official of the OGRA, for safety reasons, installation of LPG cylinder or tank on motorcycle, scooters and public service vehicles, i.e., there-wheelers, buses, coaches and wagons will not be allowed and treated as illegal.

As per provisions of LPG Policy and LPG Rules, 2001, decanting of LPG at LPG distributor premises is an illegal activity and is one of the causes of accidents, which causes loss of life and property since the same is done without the requisite safety procedures.

Moreover, manufacturing of illegal and substandard LPG cylinders without approval of OGRA is also a major cause of such accidents.

The OGRA terming the usage of LPG in transport as illegal said that buses, coaches, wagons, auto rickshaws and motorcycles would be restricted from using it as means of fuel. The LPG is being widely used in auto rickshaws as it is considered a cheaper source of fuel in comparison with the mileage given by alternative fuels including petrol and diesel.

The OGRA in 2014 through a notification has imposed a ban on the usage of LPG in public transport. According to the OGRA officials, the government has approved changes in the LPG Rules 2002 and with effect to this change in the rules, the regulator has issued notification under which filling and use of LPG in the PSVs has been banned. 

Despite the ban by the OGRA on the use of LPG in private as well as public service vehicles (PSVs), there is a rapid increase in illegal use of the commodity by such vehicles.

There are thousands of vehicles, especially PSVs and auto rickshaws, which are using LPG as an alternate of petrol and diesel.

The officials of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said that “so far there is no approved auto station in the country which can fill the LPG in the vehicles but the vehicle owners in collaboration with the LPG retailers, after making a little bit alteration, are using the fuel which poses serious threats to the safety of the passengers.”