Turning safe automobiles into vehicles of death

Explosives department officials seize a number of substandard CNG cylinders at a conversion workshop in the city’s Segunbagicha. Photo: STAR

Unauthorised workshops have been converting fuel oil run motor vehicles into compressed natural gas (CNG) powered ones fitting them with cylinders that are not made for containing the specific type of gas, turning safe automobiles into vehicles of death.

The substandard cylinders often are made from metal electric poles, oxygen cylinders, cylinders of fire extinguishers, and other kinds of materials not suitable for making CNG cylinders, according to officials of the Department of Explosives.

Some legal conversion centres also often use similar substandard cylinders and other conversion kit parts ignoring the fatal risk factor, the officials added.

They said noticing widespread use of inappropriate cylinders in converted motor vehicles, the department already intensified its inspection drive and expanded it countrywide.

According to the rules made by Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), the CNG conversion monitoring authority in the country, a CNG cylinder must be able to withstand pressure of 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi).

But the substandard cylinders being used in converted automobiles can barely withstand 1,000psi of pressure.

An official of RPGCL, which is also responsible for issuing licenses for CNG conversion workshops, said the cylinders that exploded in the country so far were all substandard, and no standard cylinder exploded so far.

AHM Nuruzzaman, assistant explosives inspector, told The Daily Star, “Apart from the capital city, officials in Rajshahi, Sylhet and Chittagong divisions were also directed a week ago to launch drives against illegal CNG conversion centres and also against irregularities in authorised workshops.”

He said, “Earlier the drives were limited to the capital.”

“We sent notices to divisional officials as part of our decision to intensify and expand our drives as we noticed the irregularities outside the capital too,” he said.

Nuruzzaman narrated his inspection experience saying, “Can you imagine, use of substandard cylinders made from electric poles, fire extinguisher cylinders and oxygen cylinders was almost the norm when conversions just began in the country, which has subsided a little nowadays.”

He said since February this year they shut down at least 20 unauthorised conversion centres, and seized about 30 substandard cylinders from different workshops and vehicles.

Taking advantage of a lack of monitoring by the authorities, the conversion workshops, most of which are located in and around the capital, use substandard conversion kits to attract vehicle owners looking for a bargain, sources said.

A proper CNG conversion carries a price tag of Tk 50,000 to Tk 70,000, while the cost of a substandard conversion ranges between Tk 10,000 and Tk 20,000, said a number of experts.

Standard CNG cylinders are quite expensive as they are imported, mostly from Argentina, Brazil, UAE, South Korea and India.

RPGCL sources said currently, the country has 192 authorised CNG conversion centres.

The number of CNG-run vehicles across the country stands at nearly 1.5 lakh while 6 lakh vehicles are powered by petrol or diesel.

Over one lakh CNG-run vehicles are registered in Dhaka, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and RPGCL sources.

Source: The Daily Star