Kathmandu, February 14

The number of domestic bottlers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) acquiring Nepal Standard (NS) certification from the government has gone up as the government has started enforcing stringent quality and safety standards for gas companies.

Following the government’s warning in the second week of January that it would shut LPG bottling plants that have not acquired the NS certification, seven gas companies out of 53 in operation in the country have acquired such quality certification, while a majority of other gas companies have applied for NS certification with the government, according to Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM).

The seven gas companies that have recently acquired the NS certification are Manoj Gas Industry (Birgunj), Shree Krishna Gas Industry (Dhading), SaiBaba Gas Udhyog (Dhading), Nepal Gas Udhyog (Balaju), Janaki Gas Industry (Nawalparasi), Metro Gas Udhyog (Dhading) and NL Gas Industry (Birgunj).

“The government had directed gas companies to acquire NS certification and maintain all quality and safety standards as required in acquiring the quality certification from the government,” said Bishwobabu Pudasaini, director general at NBSM, adding that as a majority of LPG companies have submitted applications for NS certification, the bureau will issue such quality certification to all eligible bottlers within the next two months after inspecting the quality and safety status of each gas company.

Citing that domestic gas bottling plants have repeatedly flouted quality and safety standards, which has posed accidental threats, NBSM had carried out aggressive inspection at gas plants in the first week of January. This had triggered bottlers to upgrade the safety and quality measures of their gas companies.

Earlier in December, two people were killed at Super Gas Industry in Birgunj after the gas plant caught fire owing to weak safety measures adopted by the company.

Meanwhile, gas bottlers have said that they are keen to upgrade the safety and quality standards of gas plants.

“As gas plants are highly sensitive, it is crucial that all gas companies maintain safety standards properly and gas companies are already maintaining these standards. However, ample facilitation and support from the government is crucial to help gas companies upgrade their safety standards further,” said GokulBhandari, president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association.