Saptari – Settlements in the district are at risk due to non-compliance of established gas industries. They have not taken any security measures.

Damage caused to Gaurishankar Gas Industry (Himal Gas) at Banepa-13 after the explosion last Friday.Three employees of Gaurishankar Gas Industry (Himal Gas) at Banepa-13 were injured when a 980 kg tank fell on Friday. The gas storage tank of the leaking cylinder had exploded. Although two tanks were damaged in the blast, no major accident was reported as the fire did not start. “Even though the gas leaked and exploded, the fire did not start,” said Kavre Chief District Officer Shiva Kumar Pokhrel.The industries proposed in the Nepal Oil Corporation’s LP Gas Regulations, 2065 (with amendments) should be five kilometers away from villages and other industries. But the distance between the three gas industries in Banepa-10 Thapagaun is not even 300 meters.Stakeholders say that the settlement is at risk when the government officials turn a blind eye to the financial temptation. The distance between Banepa-4-based Sagarmatha Gas Industry, Banepa-10-based Surya Gas Industry and Chandeshwari Gas Industry is only 300 meters. The walls of the two industries, which are usually run by the same person, are the same. After the Sagarmatha Gas Industry, which was registered as the former Ugratara VDC address in March 2013, has been paying the same tax saying that it fell in Ugrachandi Nala VDC during digital survey.

Industries, on the other hand, have been claiming that there were other criteria when they were established and that the settlement was developed only after the establishment. The Surya Gas Industry, which was registered with the Department of Industry on June 19, 2058 BS, has been supplying Surya brand gas to the market since July 30, 2008. Chandeshwari Gas Industry, which was registered with the Department of Industry on June 3, 2008, has been supplying Chandi brand gas to the market since 2068 BS.Emergency protection mechanisms are not effective in all three industries. All three industries do not have separate fire extinguishers. The industry is supported by an operator and a fire extinguisher.The Ugrachandi gas industry established in the former Tukuchanala VDC is also not up to standard. The industry came into operation after the VDC certified four forts on the basis of forged documents submitted by the industrialists.

The industry is only 500 meters away from the nearby Indrashobha Primary School and Basti. The school had even lodged a complaint at the former VDC office saying it was unsuitable to set up a gas industry there. The locals had also registered a case as the map of the industry was fake.