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SJB demands compensation for explosion victims

02 Dec 2021

  • Urges CAA/CID probe to find culprits
  • Claims explosions a ploy to sell Litro
  • Litro denies sale allegation
BY Pamodi Waravita The Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) demanded yesterday (2) that the Government pay compensation to those who have suffered injuries and material losses due to the recent spate of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder-based explosions and claimed that there are plans to sell state-owned Litro Gas Lanka Ltd., which is why there are deliberate attempts to create LPG cylinder-based explosions. The party also called for the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe into the parties responsible for such explosions. Speaking at a press conference held yesterday, SJB members said: “Many parties are trying to make justifications now. The question is not whether the cylinder exploded or the kitchen exploded. People have to sleep with the fear of death as they are not sure whether their kitchen will be standing by the next morning due to a gas cylinder-based explosion. Thus, the Government must do two things. Firstly, the gas companies cannot escape this. There are gas leaks and there are lives that have been hurt. Compensation must be paid for the injuries as well as other material losses. “Secondly, the CAA must conduct an investigation with the CID to find the truth and the guilty party/parties. A scientific and technical investigation must be done as well to determine whether the composition has changed and how exactly this has affected consumers.” The SJB accused gas companies of disregarding the concerns of the CAA at the beginning of the year to change the composition of gas (propane and butane) in a new product they introduced to the market, although that was later recalled. It went on to state that Litro Gas Lanka was evaluated recently with plans of selling it. “People are claiming that this is an issue about the gas composition. I don’t think so. Propane is about $ 40 more expensive than butane. We don’t even have money to import gas. Why are we increasing the composition of propane, then? Gas cylinders don’t just explode. Have you ever heard of such a thing in this world? We have a report here that shows the composition of gas when it was loaded onto the ships and unloaded here as well. It is checked twice; once abroad and once here. So this is not a composition problem. There is another problem here. Litro Gas Lanka was evaluated recently. A tender procurement has been put for an evaluation. So, on the one hand, they are going to sell Litro Gas Lanka. On the other hand, they are decreasing the demand by creating explosions so that people look for other options,” SJB members alleged in Parliament yesterday. The party said that Litro Gas Lanka is a profitable company and therefore questioned as to why there is a sudden interest in evaluating it. “Are they paving the way to sell it? Is that why cylinders are exploding?” However, speaking to The Morning yesterday, Litro Gas Lanka Chairman Theshara Jayasinghe denied these claims, adding: “The recent evaluation was done to fulfil the Sri Lanka Auditing Standard 16 requirement. This is done every five years.” Meanwhile, the general public has been urged to contact the dealer, the nearest police station, or the Presidential Committee looking into the recent accidents linked to LPG cylinders, in the event of any explosions or related issues. In a statement issued yesterday, Committee Chairman Prof. Shantha Walpolage said the panel can be contacted via 0115 811927 or 0115 811929. The Committee also mentioned a set of instructions for the general public to follow in case of an emergency. The consumers are advised to ensure that LPG regulators and supply hoses meet the required quality standards. Further, the committee requested the public refrain from using dilapidated gas cookers. The media reported nearly 10 incidents of explosions related to LPG cylinders yesterday. This week alone, more than 30 incidents related to LPG cylinder-based explosions were recorded, with some reporting minor injuries. Allegations levelled against the gas industry claim that a 50:50 butane-to-propane gas composition is dangerous to be used in a country with temperatures such as those in Sri Lanka, and that this composition deviates from the usual 30% propane and 70% butane gas composition. Both Laugfs Gas PLC and Litro Gas Lanka have stated that their gas composition falls within the 30% (propane) and 70% (butane) range, as per the test results that they have conducted. Representatives from the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment (SLAB) were in the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) labs last Sunday (28 November), where 12 gas samples were collected from the Ratnapura, Colombo, Galle, Kalutara, Kurunegala, and Gampaha Districts for testing. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed an eight-member committee this week to investigate the incidents related to LPG cylinder-based explosions that have occurred in various parts of the country towards the end of November. Yesterday, the said committee inspected some of the houses where the incidents were reported.


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