As a quick response to the explosion that took place at the fuel station behind Landmark mall, the government banned the use of gas for cooking in eateries located in fuel stations in Qatar.
The decision was taken even before the investigation concluded and the result was disclosed.
I do not know why we take decisions based on certain reactions without careful consideration.
If a fire breaks out because of gas, we ban the use of gas; if a side street witnesses an accident, we close all side streets; if a fire leads to death of children in a kindergarten, we close all kindergartens; and so on.
These decisions are taken based on sympathetic and emotional reactions without realistic studies.
The problem is that these hasty decisions do not last, as after a while everything returns to normal because they were not reasonable decisions.
All vendors in the corridors of Villaggio mall were removed to facilitate movement in the event of an emergency, and the same was done in other commercial centres. However, after a few months, these vendors were back and people cannot walk in these corridors because of them, and the rents of these vendors have been raised and exceed QR15,000.
So is banning gas the solution to such accidents?
Restaurants and cafés suffered financial losses due to the decision to ban the use of gas, especially since they use equipment that works with gas. People lost the services they were getting from these outlets, which in turn means an increase in their capital expenditure, which will push up their prices. I hope families are not banned from using gas at home.
Restaurants are now serving dishes prepared beforehand in other restaurants far away, which means they are serving food that is not fresh, without health supervision and at much higher prices.
Some may say that electric ovens can serve the same purpose, but they are not used for cooking, they are currently only used for heating food prepared in other restaurants, and they take a long time, and I am saying this from my personal experience at many restaurants which do not have the required equipment. I am afraid that some of these restaurants may heat food using old, unhealthy methods.
Some may also blame the equipment that is being used, not the person using them.
Based on this logic, matchsticks can be banned as well, so also knives, which can kill lots of people, or the sale of petrol, because it may cause major fires.
Why does the decision have to be such, instead of installing gas pipes to replace gas cylinders, as poor countries that we export gas to are doing, especially since we have more gas than water.
We must learn to take a cautious approach, follow rules, take security measures, find practical solutions, study reasons, evaluate actions then take suitable action.
