Gas users hail Court of Appeal order

The Court of Appeals' order that LPG distributors should sell only those cylinders that conform to the SLSI standards has been hailed by the people.

The Court also directed the gas companies to recall all unused cylinders that do not conform to the SLSI standards. The matter was then fixed for January 26 next year.

The order is consequent to several gas-cylinder-related explosions over the past few weeks. These explosions caused the death of a woman and burn injuries to scores of others, in addition to property damage. The woman, a mother of four, died ten days after she suffered severe burn injuries in a gas cylinder explosion while she was preparing meals.

Earlier, following a Consumer Affairs Authority directive, Litro and its competitor Laugfs have said they had introduced a new seal for consumers to identify the difference between the old and the new stocks. The two companies were told to withdraw unused cylinders with the old seal.

The Sunday Times made several attempts to contact Litro Gas Limited, but its calls went unanswered. The Consumer Affairs Authority also did not answer our calls. Their failure to answer calls confirms customer complaints that these institutions showed callous disregard for customers.

Welcoming the Court order, Everard Fernando said it confirmed that the agents were selling cylinders that did not conform to the SLSI standards. "The recalling of the unused cylinders indicates that the companies do not exercise professional diligence in complying with the standards. These standards are there to ensure that the customers are protected. When these standards are not met, the people are exposed to risks," he said calling on the companies to act with responsibility.

A Ratnapura resident said he had heard about the new seals and the new sticker to be pasted on the cylinder to inform the customer about the composition of the gas. He asked why the authorities had to wait till a catastrophe happened for them to adopt safety measures.

Colombo resident Chami Liyanage said it was ridiculous that the authorities were taking all these measures after serious damage had been done. She said she hoped the current measures following the court order would give some confidence to consumers and reassure them that the new product was safe and the companies were adhering to the SLSI standards.

She also called on the companies to compensate those who suffered injuries and hardships through no fault of theirs.

A Pettah trader said the surge in demand for kerosene cookers indicates that the people did not trust the gas companies.

“No matter what measures companies would adopt, it will take some time to build consumer confidence,” he said.