| Tanjung Tualang, Perak, Malaysia | 21 Dec 2015 | Asia Samachar |
A newly appointed granthi was seriously injured in a suspected gas leak explosion early yesterday morning at Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Settlement Tanjung Tualang, a small town in the Malaysian state of Perak.
Ranjit Singh, 30, had just finished his turn in an-going akhand paath when the incident happened at about 5am.
The gas tank was located in his room within the gurdwara compound.
He was thrown out of his room with his clothing and beard on fire. He had rolled himself on the grass patch nearby, one local resident tells Asia Samachar.
“He is a hard working person, even helping out with the renonation works going on at the gurdwara. My mum had just arrived at the gurdwara at that time. She heard a loud explosion,” she said.
Ranjit has ben admitted to the General Hospital Ipoh where is expected to undergo surgery for the burns which had badly affected the lower portion of his body.
The gurdwara has initiated a donation drive to assist the granthi. Donations can be channeled to the gurdwara account managed by a three person committee [see details below].
Contact details of gurdwara’s committee members: Jasbir Singh (+6016.5325504) or Nenderpall Kaur (+6016.5589774).
UPDATE (21 Dec 2016): After the incident, the granthi had returned to Punjab to recover fully. He is now back serving as temporary granthi at the same gurdwara.
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I have personally voiced in many Gurdwaras my concerns about the poor safety features especially regarding gas containers being stored next to kitchens but sadly with little improvement.
I had observed this risk during audit of then LLN HQ [now TNB] where the canteen and cooking facilities with the usage of gas was on the eight floor or the building. The then Head of Internal Audit Department who was an engineer, immediately raised the matter with the Management. Immediate action was taken immediately and the canteen was shifted to the car park area. Similar changes were made in other Government buildings such as the Kota Baharu Kelantan Wisma Persekutuan and many others.
Gurdwara Management Committees should take immediate measures to reduce the risk. In this case the advise of the Safety Engineers should be obtained. Action is essential to reduce similar risks and such tragedies. But then who will listen as not many Committee members may face this risk as they are rarely in the kitchen area when the cooking is done and risk is there.
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