These plastic bags are filled up with natural gas
Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan, several videos have surfaced on social media showing people taking desperate measures to acquire cooking gas. In Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, locals were seen using huge plastic bags to store LPG as the country faces a dip in the stock of cooking gas cylinders.
According to DW.com, these plastic bags are filled up with natural gas at shops that are connected to the country's gas pipeline network. To avoid leakage, vendors shut the opening of the bag tight with a nozzle and valve. The bags are then sold to people, who use the gas afterward with the help of a small electric suction pump. It approximately takes an hour to fill three to four kg of gas in plastic bags.
A Twitter user shared the video and wrote, ''In Pakistan, the practice of using gas packed in plastic bags instead of cylinders for cooking has increased. Gas is sold by filling bags inside the shops connected to the gas pipeline network. People use it in the kitchen with the help of a small electric suction pump''
Watch the video here:
The video shows two kids carrying a couple of giant white plastic bags filled with LPG. "There are warnings about these plastic bags causing gas explosions, but, firstly, I haven't heard about any such mishap, and secondly, even if these fears are true, we [poor people] have no other choice due to expensive cylinders," a local told DW.com.
Since being shared, the video has left the internet concerned as the practice can be extremely dangerous. Users noted how even the slightest error can result in a leak and blast. One person said, ''I can't believe this. Is there no Goods and Services department in Pakistan ?? There must be some basic safety standards to be followed, no ??''