ANI has reported that the ongoing gas shortage and load-shedding in Karachi has forced its residents to store LPG in plastic balloons, posing serious safety concerns.
Households, predominantly from the Orangi Town area including Mominabad, have reported that the meagre supply of cooking gas has continued to disrupt their daily lives, leaving them with few options. They have begun to rely on filling desgnated plastic balloons with gas during brief windows of supply to use them as a makeshift storage system. The balloons are available for around Pakistani Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 in the markets and are filled when gas supply is restored for short durations. They are disconnected once filled and are subsequently used throughout the day to run household chores. The practice is described as a “last resort” for many residents who continue to suffer the severity of the gas crisis.
However, experts have raised concerns regarding the practice, citing extreme safety risks. They called the balloons “mobile bombs” and warned that even a minor friction, heat exposure, or a spark could result in an explosion. This could be particularly dangerous in desnsely populated areas. Critics have called for immediate intervention by authorities, highlighting the rising fears of fire accidents due to the presence of such poorly-made storage systems.There are growing calls to gas utility companies and local administration to address the shortage and put an end to the balloon trend that could potentially be “life-threatening”.
The ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States and the resulting blockade of the economically important maritime passage, the Strait of Hormuz, have resulted in a global energy crisis, with many countries scrambling to meet the LPG demand of its citizens to carry out daily activities like cooking. The waterway was the main channel through which LPG and oil were exported from the Gulf before the war and recent developments have reduced its movements into South Asia, along with an increase in prices.
