City fuel stations play with fire safety guidelines

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 11

A majority of petrol pumps in the city are seen violating the safety guidelines, putting lives of people at risk.

No fuel station has taken the mandatory fire safety certificate from the fire brigade and nor the fire brigade officials have ever issued any notice to the petrol pump owners.

More distressing is the fact that the Fire Department has no power to act against the fuel stations, which are permitted and regulated by the Union ministry.

Some fuel stations, having large tanks of inflammable diesel and petrol, are situated close to residential colonies, hospitals and schools, which is a major threat to the public.

Jaswinder Singh, fire brigade officer, said no fuel station in the city had taken fire safety certificate from the department.

They get the certificate before the inauguration of the fuel station but they never get it renewed, which should be done every year, he added.

“We will send notices to the fuel stations, urging them to get their fire safety certificates renewed,” Jaswinder Singh said.

Sanjeev Garg, a city resident, said it was a threat to the people as many fuel stations were located in crowded areas.

“They were established decades ago when there were no buildings in those areas. It is a matter of serious concern and the administration should take immediate steps for the safety of the people. The authorities should make these pumps get fire safety certificates at the earliest,” he added.

Another resident Jagdeep Singh said it was strange that fuel stations had not taken fire safety certificates.

He said apart from this, many petrol pumps didn’t comply with basic fire safety measures such as having fire extinguisher and keeping buckets full of sands at the pump.

The district administration needs to pull up its socks and act against these fuel stations as this issue concerns the safety of the people, he added.