Running out of gas but don’t know whether there’s enough to cook dinner? Don’t worry. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora plans to introduce transparent cylinders which will allow you to see the volume of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) left and plan your menu accordingly.

After learning of the existence of such fibreglass cylinders, Deora has asked officials to examine the feasibility of filling LPG in such bottles. The idea is to ensure that consumers are not shortchanged through short supply or mixing of water.

A report of the committee set up by the Department of Consumer Affairs to identify problems relating to short-filling in LPG cylinders showed short supply at the bottling plant due to error during cylinder weight neutralization.

At the distributors’ end, LPG is escaped into empty cylinders and water is filled up to 2 kg through gadgets like Bansuri. “This water remains in the cylinder making short filling when sent for refilling,” it said, suggesting stringent penalty on detection of such gadgets at godowns.

At a meeting to discuss transparent cylinders, Deora was surprised why neither the ministry nor the oil marketing companies introduced such cylinders to prevent malpractice in LPG distribution. Such bottles are available in the US, Norway and Malaysia for packing smaller volumes so that consumers can lug it around for barbecues and picnics.

Fibreglass bottles are almost 50 per cent lighter than steel cylinders. The largest off-the-shelf bottle is known to weigh 7.5 kg and packs 14 kg of LPG.

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