Green gas bottle explosions were warnings that were ignored. The pain and suffering of the Guyanese people is often like an endless tragedy for the entertainment of those culpable. We are often expected to sing during our suffering, to dance in the face of terror, to applaud for the giants of greed and injustice and to bow to those responsible for our hardships.
It is unfortunate that the injuries of those who escaped the gas bottle explosions were not cause for pause, recall of bottles or accountability. Instead, the danger remained, with fingers being pointed from the company to the consumer. Eventually it led to a tragedy that could have been avoided and if nothing changes, what more can we expect?
Do Guyanese lives matter to companies whose priority is profits? Do our lives matter to the regulatory bodies? Do our lives matter to any one not affected by the boom of anguish that could cause a lifetime of suffering or eternal silence? One and two explosions were not enough. Three and four still did not indicate that it may result in the loss of life and then boom there was an explosion on January 4th in Foulis East Coast Demerara.
A husband and wife are now dead three days apart from each other. Manu Sukhu and Basmattie Ganpat were severely burned when a green gas bottle exploded in their home in Foulis. After a couple of weeks in the hospital, the doctors were unable to save them and now a family is in mourning. Will there be stringent regulatory oversight? Can we blame the agencies responsible for enforcing compliance? Will we the people continue to accept substandard products when two people are now dead and others must live with lifelong scars?
When our homes can be a ticking bomb because of lax enforcement and companies that refuse to accept culpability, we all should be worried. Instead, arrogance and blaming the consumers of the green bottle cooking gas was the response. Fittings and regulators were blamed for we are to assume that a company as large as the green bottle gas products could never be at fault for the boom and the pain. Consumers were instructed on what to do if they suspected their gas was leaking, but everything should be done by the company to make sure they do not sell old leaky gas bottles.
We the people have the power, and we must stand in it. Our outrage should not stop with posts or comments on social media. The issue of exploding green gas bottles has been ongoing and action to prevent what happened on January 4th should have been taken.
Many are calling on the families affected to sue the company. I support this call because often when people are hurt or permanently injured in this country and they do not have the resources to fight, there is no justice for them. We can demand that our rights as consumers be respected. If we as Guyanese seriously take a stand, our protest will be constant and perhaps then our rights as consumers will be respected.
We the people should also know what our options are for reporting faulty products. The Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) was established in 2006 and became fully operational in 2010. According to the CCAC consumers have the right to use products safely, to be informed, to choose carefully, to be heard when we express our satisfaction or dissatisfaction, to seek redress, to be an educated consumer and to contribute to a healthy environment. They advise that if consumers are not satisfied with their product or service that they talk to the business they are having the issue with to see how they could resolve it. However, if both parties cannot agree on a solution, then redress should be sought with the CCAC. Earlier this month it was reported that the CCAC launched an investigation into the exploding gas bottles. They said that they had received two official complaints.
Now that two lives have been lost and people like Jaiwantie Samaroo is now living with permanent scars, we should not let this issue go silent until there is another boom. Samaroo suffered from second and third degree burns when the gas bottle exploded in her shop on August 1st, 2024, at New Scheme, Herstelling. The family suffered millions in losses.
We must learn from the green gas bottle explosions. No lives should have been lost if caution was taken from the first explosion, and the consumers rights were respected. Another life should not be lost. No one else should be injured or have their business or home destroyed because of being sold a faulty product. But how? As aforementioned, we the people hold the power and must stand in it. We can boycott businesses until they accept responsibility for their careless actions, provide us with quality service and products and treat the customers with respect. We must foster a culture of safety and accountability. Sukhu and Ganpat are deceased, Samaroo is living with permanent scars, trauma and losses. Others are also living with trauma and fear. Names should not be added to these lists because of faulty green gas bottles.
