Tanker operators stealing LPG en route to destination
BIRGUNJ, OCT 10 -
Operators of tankers carrying LPG have been found to have been illegally removing the fuel from the bullet en route to their destinations. They are reported to be stealing LPG and filling household gas cylinders with it, causing losses of Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per bullet to the importers.
The malpractice was unveiled after Indian Police seized a tanker with number HR 74/1182 after catching its operators red-handed taking out gas from a Nepal-bound bullet in Piparakothi, Bihar. Nepali importers receive LPG shipped from the bottling plant in Barauni, India.
The police also confiscated 30 empty cylinders waiting to be filled with LPG removed from the tanker. The driver of the tanker was caught, but his accomplices fled at the sight of the approaching police officers.
Senior superintendent of police Sanjay Kumar Singh working in Piparakothi said they raided the spot after receiving a tip. According to him, a dozen people were engaged in removing LPG from the tanker and filling cylinders with it when the police arrived.
Mainly drivers of LPG transporters and traders based in the border areas have been blamed for stealing cooking gas from the tankers. According to a report, they are active in both India and Nepal. The thefts have hit many gas importers in Nepal.
Manoj Das, proprietor of Manoj Gas in Parwanipur, said they had been suffering large losses due to the thefts. Gas dealers said they had been unable to control the theft even though they send their staff to monitor the transporters. “Despite our efforts, the LPG transporters have been getting away,” said Das.
Transporters have attributed possible shortages of LPG upon arrival to temperature changes, but gas dealers say the tankers are not affected by changes in the temperature. “Unlike in ordinary tankers, the temperature of the LPG inside the bullet remains constant,” said Das. Traders import LPG themselves from Barauni, India after making payment to Nepal Oil Corporation.
LPG is reported to be illegally removed from tankers at a farmhouse in Parwanipur in the Parsa-Bara Industrial Corridor and the mills area in Jitpur. “The drivers have fixed a device to the bullet that allows them to remove LPG and fill gas cylinders,” said a source. They sell the gas for Rs 1,100 per cylinder while the concerned transporters are paid Rs 200 each. The source added that 30-50 cylinders of gas are removed illegally from a single bullet.
Such thefts have raised the risk of fire. Das said that taking out highly inflammable products without proper precautions could cause a catastrophe. Narayani zone police chief senior superintendent of police Pankaj Shrestha said that the police had started keeping an eye on the areas where thefts of LPG have been reported.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
