It is a matter of serious concern to note that despite many tragic incidents occurring due to mishandling of Cooking Gas cylinders, stoves or other accessories the safety awareness is still at infancy stage with government showing little keenness in making the people abreast with the required level of education on observing safety measures while utilizing this modern day fuel for smokeless cooking.
There is no doubt that certain Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) do hold some awareness events but looking into the huge number of LPG consumers, what is being done is ambiguous. In this regard, Bharatgas Division of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has organized a cooking cum safety event ‘Gaon ki Rasoi' with theme ‘Svadisht Bhojan, Surakshit Jeevan' in village-Sohanjana at Geeta Bharatgas. The initiative was good but the number of people who were at the site of the event was handful thus making this event of little impact as there is an adage in Hindi, ‘Jungle Mein Mor Nacha, Kisne Dekha?' As per the report, the event witnessed participation of 16 people, mostly women while around 100 customers attended the meet organized at the same time.
In November last year, a mother and her 4-year-old son were charred to death after an LPG cylinder caught fire and exploded inside their house in Chandimarg area of Poonch district. Similarly, a minor boy and girl were among four members of a family who suffered burn injuries after an LPG cylinder exploded in Aloochibagh area of Srinagar. Several such incidents were reported in the Union Territory in the last few years.
Notably, 5,122 incidents of accidents involving LPG have been reported across the country in the last five years and till January in the current year. As per the reports of OMCs, the highest 1,151 such incidents were reported in the year 2017, 983 in 2018, 825 in 2019, 1,019 in 2020, 606 in 2021 and 538 in 2022 (till January 2023).
For a country which is leading the world as far as population is concerned; such events are of no use rather these are meaningless because for a vast country like India, imparting awareness on the aforesaid issue needs a comprehensive approach as it is akin to boiling the ocean. Various means through which such awareness could be made effectual include government campaigns like advertisements, posters, and pamphlets distributed through public spaces, schools, and community centers, workshops or seminars in collaboration with local authorities, gas agencies, and safety experts educating people about safe handling, storage, and usage of LPG, utilizing social media platforms, websites, and mobile apps to disseminate safety tips, and creating informative content, including videos, infographics, and articles that highlight LPG safety measures and precautions.
Pertinently, OMCs have a comprehensive insurance policy under ‘Public Liability Policy for Oil Industries' which covers all LPG consumers registered with OMCs. As per the policy, a personal accident cover of Rs 6 lakh per person is provided by the OMCs. In case of injury, the policy covers medical expenses of Rs 30 lakh per event with a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per person. Also, in case of property damage, the policy covers a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per event at authorised customer's registered premises. All said and done, a multi-pronged approach involving education, outreach, and consistent messaging is essential to effectively spread LPG safety tips among society.
