Mumbai News: BMC Launches Citywide Awareness Drive On Gas Cylinder Safety After Kandivali Tragedy

Mumbai: Following recent gas cylinder leak incidents — including one in Kandivali that claimed six lives — the BMC, in collaboration with Bharat Petroleum (BP) and Hindustan Petroleum (HP), has launched a special awareness campaign in Mumbai. The campaign will run from Tuesday - October 7 to 17, during which awareness camps will be held at over 350 locations across the city.

A special meeting was convened on Monday at the Mumbai Fire Brigade Headquarters in Byculla to discuss the details of the campaign. The meeting was attended by Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Anil Parab, Regional Manager of BP Sandeep Pawar, and Senior Manager at HP Geeta Paliwal, along with other concerned officials. During the discussions, officials emphasised the need for stricter, coordinated action against the unauthorised use of gas cylinders.

Ambulgekar urged gas distribution companies to conduct training and awareness sessions for all stakeholders — including senior officials, distributor-level staff, field workers, and delivery personnel. He also emphasised that detailed information on the safe use of gas cylinders along with live demonstrations should be regularly communicated to all consumers, covering approximately 2.5 million households. Ambulgekar further recommended that even after the campaign period, awareness sessions should be conducted regularly in the society and residential area, based on public demand.

As per data shared by BP, the company serves approximately 1.45 million domestic customers and 38,000 commercial customers within Mumbai.

HP reported around 1.05 million domestic and 40,000 commercial customers in the same region.

Together, the two companies cater to nearly 2.5 million domestic and 78,000 commercial gas cylinder consumers across Mumbai.

Notably, most domestic customers own two cylinders, while a significant number of commercial clients use multiple cylinders—with many maintaining dedicated cylinder banks.