LAHORE About 80 per cent mini van owners are using substandard CNG cylinders and LPG kits in the City due to absence of any efficient checking system by the authorities, it is learnt. Since there was no plant for the manufacturing standard CNG cylinders in the country and due to the availability of imported cylinders at high prices, the mini van owners used locally made substandard cylinders available at cheap prices and were playing with the life of the people. The basic requirement of checking CNG cylinders after five years was not followed by large number of the vehicles owners. This was learnt that the CNG filling station owners were offering the poor quality cylinders to van owners on installment at very cheap rates on the condition of filling them from their CNG stations. Resultantly, greed of minting money at both sides (van and CNG station owners) was the main reason behind the day by day increasing tragic incidents of exploding cylinders. The inferior quality cylinders were not only being used in mini vans but in the majority of the rickshaws. For maintenance of CNG cylinders government established Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) which conduct through checkup of the cylinders and issue fitness certificate but the people are not bothering to show positive response towards it, an official of the HDIP informed TheNation. The official said that the life of a CNG cylinder was only five years and its cleansing and checkup was imperative but the transport owners did not bother to check condition of the cylinders owing to ignorance or considering it an extra expenditure, he added. The official told this scribe on the condition of anonymity that there were severe shortages of standard laboratories, awareness campaigns and checking system at the government side. The official suggested that all the CNG stations should be strict not to fill gas in the cylinders without checking certificate of fitness from the HDIP. Similarly, he added, the public transport owners should be fined heavily for using substandard kits and cylinders. Shockingly, this was revealed that majority of mini van drivers at Multan Road and Ferozpur Road were not aware about the government department responsible for issuing cylinder fitness certificate. I do not need to check my cylinder from anywhere, its performance is very good and I am satisfied, said a van driver at Multan Road. Another driver was of the view that there was no need to waste time and money for the purpose. He added that when the cylinder would become old, he would replace it. All Pakistan CNG Association Supreme Council Chairman Ghayas Paracha while talking to TheNation said the majority of vehicle owners were using substandard cylinders and that the government was not introducing an efficient mechanism to check the menace. He added that a number of illegal poor quality cylinders installation workshops were continuing their businesses in various parts of the city under the nose of the authorities. The government failed to establish cylinder-testing laboratories in the private sector, he said, adding that it was the responsibility of the OGRA to take action against the workshops installing substandard cylinders in vehicles. Mr Ghayas held that the establishment of standard laboratories in the private sector was the need of the hour.