Days after Sri Lanka witnessed 19 incidents within 48 hours involving explosions in the cooking gas cylinders, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered a probe into the matter as fear gripped the public of possible defects in the cylinders. On Tuesday, police confirmed at least 20 incidents of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), including five on the same day, related explosions had been reported across the country within the past two days, reported Daily Mirror.

The issue, which instilled fear among people, also came for discussions in the Cabinet meeting held earlier this week. Amid growing anxiety, Rajapaksa directed his energy minister to take action on the matter. A day later on Tuesday, Rajapaksa formed a high-level committee to find out the causes behind these explosions. 

Significantly, all incidents were reported from cylinders belonging to a special company, Letro Gas Lanka. 

However, despite a large number of incidents, the company refrained from outlining any corrective measures and instead asked consumers to refrain from resorting to unverified testing methods like soap tests to determine leaks. 

In all incidents, where people complained about leaks, safety was compromised due to a broken hose, regulator, or cooker. It further said that the LPG brought into Sri Lanka meets internationally ratified compositions of propane and butane, certified at the point of loading and unloading. 

(SAM)