KATHMANDU: The increase in demand for petroleum products in the country gave birth to the mushrooming of filling stations. However, the condition of most pumps that were operating before the Dealers Bylaws 2008 was introduced has fuelled concern for the safety of adjacent Kathmandu dwellers.
Present scenario
According to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), there are around 150 petrol pumps in the valley, of which 110
stations are in Kathmandu, 20 in Lalitpur and 20 in Bhaktapur. Lilendra Prasad Pradhan, president of Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ National Association (NPDNA), says, “We have time and again voiced serious concern about giving permission to run petrol pumps in the city. Previously, with changing governments, permission was given haphazardly, which has resulted in the present
scenario of unmanaged and unplanned fuel stations.”
Opining that NOC should have looked into at least 10 years of feasibility before giving permission to operate petrol pumps, Pradhan further alleges, “The main problem started when the concerned authorities gave away permissions without conducting proper research of the location and the requirements to run a petrol pump.”
Claiming that the author-ities only considered easy distribution, Pradhan says, “We were not involved in the amendment of Dealers Regulation, which lacked the perspective of safety for workers and petrol pumps, which is why the present situation exists.”
Agreeing with him, Kishor Kumar Bhattarai, chief of Kathmandu Fire Brigade, states that the risk factors surrounding petrol pumps around the core city is extremely high. “The petrol pumps that are established in four and six aanas of land in densely populated areas
of the city pose high risks. Should a fire break out in any petrol pump, the entire city could go up in flames,” informs Bhattarai.
As petroleum products are highly inflammable, if they catch fire, it is difficult to bring the situation under control. To top it all, there are way too many fuel stations in Kathmandu. Only around the Dasharath Stadium at Tripureshwor, there are three petrol pumps and more than eight petrol pumps from Tripureshwor to Soalteemode, a stretch of hardly 1.5 kilometres.
Bhattarai informs, “Many petrol pumps are situated on narrow and congested areas where it might be difficult for rescue teams to reach
and provide prompt service in case of a fire. That may invite unforeseen but massive destruction.”
Regulations and practice
The Dealers Regulation 2005 maintains that there should be at least 30 metres of length and 15 metres of breath in the facade of adjacent roads and the total area of petrol pumps in municipalities should be a minimum of two ropanis. All
materials, equipment and facilities used in petroleum operations should comply with generally accepted engineering standards, and be kept in good working order.
For fire safety measures, there should be at least two fire extinguishers with a capacity of 10 kilograms, four buckets full of sand, shovel, pick and a water tank of 1,000 litres in the vicinity. The regulation also states that there should not be any high extension line or transmitter in the compound of a petrol pump. While these instructions lie in the book, it also clearly mentions that petrol pumps that were operating before the regulations are exempt from these rules.
In this regard, Shiva Prasad Pudasaini, spokes-person of NOC, says, “The petrol pumps don’t bear much risk as storage tanks are built underground.” However, accepting that there are certain risks, Pudasaini stresses on the need to be careful while handling
petroleum products.
Bhola Prasad Baral, salesman of Sanjay Services Centre near Chinatown, informs that they have taken fire safety measures such as keeping two buckets of sand, four fire extinguishers, shovel, pick, et cetera handy as per the regulation. Although they have taken those safety measures, Baral does not feel safe in the petrol pump due to the transmitter in front of filling station.
Stating that government should ensure the safety of distribution centres, Baral says, “When the distribution centre is a safety hazard, it
is the responsibility of the government to guide us and direct us to a safer place.” Moreover, he informs that signs of ‘No mobile’ and ‘No smoking’ are placed on the board for general safety but he says that people simply neglect the notice.
Informing that they never received any training in fire safety, Baral says, “We do have a general idea about how to put out a fire using sand or fire extinguisher, but we haven’t received any formal training till date.” The 25-year-old petrol pump once faced the incident of fire. He informs it was due to technical problems in the generator. As the petroleum oil for the generator was stored near by, it caught on fire. In the incident, two workers were seriously injured and had to be hospitalised for months. Reportedly, Sanjay Services Centre has the capacity to store 9,500 litres of diesel and 24,500 litres of petrol in its underground tanks.
Hurdles and solution
Stakeholders state that they face practical difficulties in shifting and managing the existing petrol pumps. They further add that
policies, budget for compensating distribution centres and lack of coordination are the prime challenges in managing the petrol pumps.
Pudasaini says that there is room for correction and to mitigate the problem, stakeholders should join hands.
To maintain the quality of petroleum, NOC conducts regular monitoring of quality and fire safety measures in petrol pumps.
Pradhan opines that there should be massive awareness campaigns to minimise the risk factor to the public. Since petroleum requires careful handling, he suggests not to store petrol in plastic bottles and shifting high extension lines and transmitters from around petrol
stations. According to him, there should be proper research before providing license of operation. For the existing pumps, he suggests, “Nepal government should develop a disaster mitigation plans and other policies for overall safety.”
Present scenario
According to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), there are around 150 petrol pumps in the valley, of which 110
stations are in Kathmandu, 20 in Lalitpur and 20 in Bhaktapur. Lilendra Prasad Pradhan, president of Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ National Association (NPDNA), says, “We have time and again voiced serious concern about giving permission to run petrol pumps in the city. Previously, with changing governments, permission was given haphazardly, which has resulted in the present
scenario of unmanaged and unplanned fuel stations.”
Opining that NOC should have looked into at least 10 years of feasibility before giving permission to operate petrol pumps, Pradhan further alleges, “The main problem started when the concerned authorities gave away permissions without conducting proper research of the location and the requirements to run a petrol pump.”
Claiming that the author-ities only considered easy distribution, Pradhan says, “We were not involved in the amendment of Dealers Regulation, which lacked the perspective of safety for workers and petrol pumps, which is why the present situation exists.”
Agreeing with him, Kishor Kumar Bhattarai, chief of Kathmandu Fire Brigade, states that the risk factors surrounding petrol pumps around the core city is extremely high. “The petrol pumps that are established in four and six aanas of land in densely populated areas
of the city pose high risks. Should a fire break out in any petrol pump, the entire city could go up in flames,” informs Bhattarai.
As petroleum products are highly inflammable, if they catch fire, it is difficult to bring the situation under control. To top it all, there are way too many fuel stations in Kathmandu. Only around the Dasharath Stadium at Tripureshwor, there are three petrol pumps and more than eight petrol pumps from Tripureshwor to Soalteemode, a stretch of hardly 1.5 kilometres.
Bhattarai informs, “Many petrol pumps are situated on narrow and congested areas where it might be difficult for rescue teams to reach
and provide prompt service in case of a fire. That may invite unforeseen but massive destruction.”
Regulations and practice
The Dealers Regulation 2005 maintains that there should be at least 30 metres of length and 15 metres of breath in the facade of adjacent roads and the total area of petrol pumps in municipalities should be a minimum of two ropanis. All
materials, equipment and facilities used in petroleum operations should comply with generally accepted engineering standards, and be kept in good working order.
For fire safety measures, there should be at least two fire extinguishers with a capacity of 10 kilograms, four buckets full of sand, shovel, pick and a water tank of 1,000 litres in the vicinity. The regulation also states that there should not be any high extension line or transmitter in the compound of a petrol pump. While these instructions lie in the book, it also clearly mentions that petrol pumps that were operating before the regulations are exempt from these rules.
In this regard, Shiva Prasad Pudasaini, spokes-person of NOC, says, “The petrol pumps don’t bear much risk as storage tanks are built underground.” However, accepting that there are certain risks, Pudasaini stresses on the need to be careful while handling
petroleum products.
Bhola Prasad Baral, salesman of Sanjay Services Centre near Chinatown, informs that they have taken fire safety measures such as keeping two buckets of sand, four fire extinguishers, shovel, pick, et cetera handy as per the regulation. Although they have taken those safety measures, Baral does not feel safe in the petrol pump due to the transmitter in front of filling station.
Stating that government should ensure the safety of distribution centres, Baral says, “When the distribution centre is a safety hazard, it
is the responsibility of the government to guide us and direct us to a safer place.” Moreover, he informs that signs of ‘No mobile’ and ‘No smoking’ are placed on the board for general safety but he says that people simply neglect the notice.
Informing that they never received any training in fire safety, Baral says, “We do have a general idea about how to put out a fire using sand or fire extinguisher, but we haven’t received any formal training till date.” The 25-year-old petrol pump once faced the incident of fire. He informs it was due to technical problems in the generator. As the petroleum oil for the generator was stored near by, it caught on fire. In the incident, two workers were seriously injured and had to be hospitalised for months. Reportedly, Sanjay Services Centre has the capacity to store 9,500 litres of diesel and 24,500 litres of petrol in its underground tanks.
Hurdles and solution
Stakeholders state that they face practical difficulties in shifting and managing the existing petrol pumps. They further add that
policies, budget for compensating distribution centres and lack of coordination are the prime challenges in managing the petrol pumps.
Pudasaini says that there is room for correction and to mitigate the problem, stakeholders should join hands.
To maintain the quality of petroleum, NOC conducts regular monitoring of quality and fire safety measures in petrol pumps.
Pradhan opines that there should be massive awareness campaigns to minimise the risk factor to the public. Since petroleum requires careful handling, he suggests not to store petrol in plastic bottles and shifting high extension lines and transmitters from around petrol
stations. According to him, there should be proper research before providing license of operation. For the existing pumps, he suggests, “Nepal government should develop a disaster mitigation plans and other policies for overall safety.”
Are we ready?
In case of a fire in any petrol pump, Kishor Prasad Bhattarai, chief of Kathmandu Fire Brigade, informs that there is a rescue truck especially designated to put out the fire. Bhattarai says, “Petrol-eum fire falls under ‘C’ category, which means we will have to use dry chemical powder and protein foam instead of water to control the flames.”
Reportedly, the only rescue truck equipped with such machinery, chemicals and other required instruments was donated by Italy two-and-a-half years ago. The fire fighters received a general training about how to handle the equipment from the Italian government.
“Till date we have not used the truck as such an incident has not occurred in the past two years,” he articulates.
Informing that time is of essence in incidents of fire, especially in that of highly inflammable products, he says, “One has to regularly keep tabs on the fire extinguisher’s pressure and expiry date. And the pump owners and NOC need to be very vigilant about this. If a fire breaks out and the extinguishers are outdated, it will create a serious problem.”
Moreover, he says that compulsory trainings for new staff on workplace safety and how to use fire safety equipment is crucial.
Reportedly, the only rescue truck equipped with such machinery, chemicals and other required instruments was donated by Italy two-and-a-half years ago. The fire fighters received a general training about how to handle the equipment from the Italian government.
“Till date we have not used the truck as such an incident has not occurred in the past two years,” he articulates.
Informing that time is of essence in incidents of fire, especially in that of highly inflammable products, he says, “One has to regularly keep tabs on the fire extinguisher’s pressure and expiry date. And the pump owners and NOC need to be very vigilant about this. If a fire breaks out and the extinguishers are outdated, it will create a serious problem.”
Moreover, he says that compulsory trainings for new staff on workplace safety and how to use fire safety equipment is crucial.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/perspectives/fullnews.php?headline=Fuelling+concern&newsid=MjQ1NQ==
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