Muscat - The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and other authorities have made several announcements to make Muscat smarter by using advanced technologies.
Digital transformation has been taking place in all spheres of our lives with the introduction of online payment of utility bills, digital banking, app-based delivery services, and electronic and water meters.
One aspect of daily life where the country has been making slow or no progress is related to the delivery and storage of LPG cooking gas cylinders.
There have been several instances of house fires due to explosions of cooking gas cylinders in recent times, mainly due to poor connections or inadequacies while placing these cylinders, considering the extreme conditions of the Sultanate.
According to the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA), most fire incidents occur in homes in Muscat – the short circuit is seen as the main culprit. Cooking gas cylinder explosions have been quite fatal.
Industry sources highlight several benefits of having piped cooking gas in our apartments, which include continuous supply 24/7 without bothering about running out of gas in the middle of cooking.
Piped gas is a low-pressure cooking and heating fuel used in domestic and non-domestic applications. It is two times lighter than air, allowing it to dissipate freely into the atmosphere.
Unlike LPG cylinder tanks, gas pipelines can also avoid storage space in kitchens.
Some years ago, Oman Gas Company had announced plans to supply cooking gas in some areas of Muscat Governorate, which would have helped to replace LPG cooking gas with piped natural gas.
Speaking to the Observer, several households said the gas pipeline should be available at least in some parts of the city.
“I agree that old apartments in the cities are not equipped or may not have adequate infrastructure to support such systems. But new projects should have provisions for piped gas even if facilities are not available for now,” said S. Patel, who has been a witness to a significant cooking gas explosion in an apartment near his home. "Piped gas is also a necessity of the time, considering the climate conditions of the country and Muscat in particular. Cooking gas cylinders are transported in open trucks, which can be dangerous for all road users. However, it may be noted that these trucks are frequently monitored by the authorities to ensure that no untoward incidents take place,” said Mohammed Hussain, a resident of Bausher.
He added, “Another problem faced is the time taken to deliver cylinders, which can take even hours, though it has improved with the emergence of app-based booking facility. I agree that there are challenges facing such projects in a city like Muscat due to its terrain. Still, it is possible and perhaps is only a matter of time.”
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