MBMC fetes gas leakage saviours, but deadly danger persists ahead!
The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) on Monday felicitated 17 fire brigade personnel for their alertness and bravery shown to avoid a major tragedy by risking their lives by disposing off a leaking chlorine gas cylinder.
The act of bravery assumes significance as the gas leakage was reported from the waterworks located amidst a cluster of residential high-rises in the premises of the local fire station which houses an
The civic body has repeated its mistake by again placing the new cylinder out in the open exposing it to rain and rough weather which had apparently accelerated its corrosion leading to the accident
overhead water reservoir in Bhayandar (west) on January 27. However, the civic administration has repeated its mistake by again placing the new cylinder out in the open exposing it to rain and rough weather which had apparently accelerated its corrosion leading to the accident and revealing the lethargic approach of officials towards handling toxic gases and their unsafe storage facilities.
Provided and maintained by a private agency, the cylinder weighing 163 kilograms contained around 100 kg of chlorine which started leaking at a little before midnight, sparking panic among people residing in the vicinity who could fell a pungent smell of the gas coming out from the chlorine cylinder. While occupants of five towers in the vicinity were immediately evacuated, efforts of the fire brigade personnel to plug the leakage failed, prompting them to disconnect the cylinder and ferry it all the way to the Bhayandar creek and dispose it off into the waters for the remaining gas to dissolve.
Five fire brigade personnel including, Fire officer Praksah Borade, Jagdish Patil, Rohit Patil, Santosh Mashaal, Sanjay Mhatre and Harshad Adhikari and other employees from the waterworks were admitted to hospital for breathing complications due to inhaling chlorine.
Moreover, clarity still eludes the outcome of the probe which was ordered into the matter.
“Based on the information provided by the MBMC we have issued a notice to the agency which actually shouldered the responsibility of its upkeep. However, they are yet to respond,” confirmed SPI Rajendra Kamble.