Gas transport: District administration’s guidelines not being followed!

• Law and order: Yet to learn learn a lesson from Perne gas tanker toppling incident

Mangaluru: Though a gas tanker toppled at Nanthoor circle on Wednesday Nov 21^st, as there was no gas leakage, a major tragedy was closely missed. But, the failure to follow rules regarding the transportation of gas in such huge quantities has come to light. Back in 2013, a gas tanker disaster took place at Perne near Uppinangady which claimed the lives of eight people. Following the disaster, the district administration took notice and created 10 guidelines to be followed while transporting gas through bullet tankers and notified oil companies to follow them strictly.

Mangaluru has HPCL, BPCL, IOC, MRPL and other prominent oil and gas companies. Daily, more than 1,800 tankers travel within Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada (DK) limits along the national highway 66, 75 and 169. They transport LPG, other dangerous gases and chemicals with capacities ranging from 8 to 18 tonnes.

District administrations 10 guidelines

Following Perne disaster which grabbed the district administrations attention, it called for a meeting with LPG transporting companies, created 10 guidelines and directed all the oil companies and gas tanker owners to follow the guidelines strictly.

According to the guidelines, while transporting gas, every tanker should compulsorily have two drivers and one cleaner. They should have all the necessary documents. Also a speed limiter should be installed to maintain control on the vehicle speed. GPS system should also be installed to keep track of the vehicle. Besides, this GPS system should be connected to the police commissioner’s office. An emergency response team should be kept ready. Above all, the oil companies must maintain a greater watch on the gas transporting vehicles. The companies and the transport institution must additionally have an emergency operation vehicle facility. Already there is rule in the district that bullet tankers should not ply in the night between 10pm -6am.

In the incident that took place at Nanthoor circle on Wednesday, it has come to light that the guidelines of the district administration were violated. Now there is a serious question on the horizon on who would be held responsible if in case, the 18 tonnes of the LPG being transported by the toppled tanker had indeed leaked and caused a disaster. Not just this, it is also clear that neither the department related to the Perne disaster nor the oil companies responsible for the tragedy have learnt anything from the disaster.  

If the guidelines are not followed, then the police should take strict action against the gas transporter. RTO needs to take continuous inspection on this regard. It has been directed that the vehicle which violates the rule must be seized. On the other hand, in the backdrop of accidents occurring due to the sharp turns on the highway, the national highway department has been notified to take necessary measures. But the bitter truth is that in most cases, tankers which transport gas and other inflammable goods tend to completely ignore the guidelines. In the Nanthoor incident, the gas tanker was in the wrong for transporting the gas in the night which is against the district administrations guidelines.

Over speeding, violation of rules

It has come to knowledge that most of the gas tanker accidents that take place in the district is because of over speeding and blatant violation of rules. Most of the accidents have occurred near sharp turns, as the turn is being attempted by the loaded gas tanker being driven over the speed limit which results in loss of control and the toppling of the vehicle. There is rule that tankers filled with gas must travel only during daytime, says T N Shivshakar, district chief officer of the fire and emergency service.

Normally, most of the tankers do not have two drivers. In some tankers, there won’t be a cleaner too. If an accident takes place in the night, there is a delay in it coming to notice. Therefore, to prevent big disasters, there is a rule to transport only during the day.

Emergency actions in case of a gas leak

Valves are there on the top and bottom of the tanker and also there is a gauge in the rear. Only if there is serious accident will the valves suffer any damage. But, the possibility of the gas tanker incurring a hole is extremely rare. As LPG has higher mass than air, it will flow on the lower side. If there is a fire at a distance of 100 meters from the location of gas leak, it will nonetheless catch fire. If there is a gas leak from the valves, primarily all traffic movement to the area is stopped, people within the near surroundings are evicted, industries are asked to stop work and the electricity supply needs to be stopped. Fire services must be alerted immediately. Information of the incident must be sent to the emergency operation team of the oil companies. The fire service personnel will rush to the spot and if there is a gas leak, then will control it by spraying water. If the leak is severe, then they will stop the valves by using kits. If the leak is extreme, then the emergency operation team will take action to control the leak. The gas from within the fallen vehicle is transferred to another vehicle and the process will take about 3-4 hours. During this period the fire service personnel will spray water to control the spread of the gas leak, informed an official of fire and emergency services to ‘Udayavani’.

Action to follow guidelines

“It is important that the gas tankers take greater care while travelling. Presently, there are a few rules regarding the maintenance and transport of the tankers. Action will be taken to make sure they are followed,” said Sasikanth Senthil, DK Deputy Commissioner

Article by Keshav Kunder translated into English by Aaron Dmello