World News | Sri Lankan President Appoints Panel to Probe Fire Incidents Caused by Cooking Gas in Country

Colombo, Nov 30 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksha on Tuesday appointed a panel to probe the recurrence of domestic fire incidents related to cooking gas in the country and suggest remedial measures to resolve the issue, according to an official statement.

The eight-member panel was constituted a day after the Consumer Affairs Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna told Parliament on Monday that there have been 233 incidents of fire of the leading Litra Gas brand in the country from January 2015 and October 2021.

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The panel will probe the matter and give a report to President Rajapaksha within two weeks, the President's Office said in a statement.

In the recent weeks, there have been over a dozen Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) fire incidents reported from households. Scared users of cooking gas have been pressing for remedial action.

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The state gas company was also accused by the Opposition legislators of changing the composition of Propane and Butane gas which causes explosions and fires inside kitchens.

LPG is usually made with Propane and Butane, with companies saying they use 70 per cent Propane and 30 per cent Butane. However, the Opposition claimed that a test had found the composition was 50/50.

The gas fires came amidst a shortage of LPG in the country caused due to the delayed shipments caused by the foreign exchange crisis in the local economy.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)