Ludhiana, May 2 (PTI) Days after a toxic gas leak incident hit the thickly populated Giaspura locality here, many people have started returning to their homes but said they are still in shock and trying to come to terms with the tragedy.
Eleven people lost their lives after they inhaled toxic gas on April 30. The incident is suspected to have been triggered by a buildup of hydrogen sulphide in a sewer, which later leaked into the area.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh Bains said the National Disaster Response Force completed its operation Monday night. The NDRF collected samples from manholes, took readings of the ambient air quality and also found that traces of hydrogen sulphide were no longer present in the air.
He said only 60 yards of the area now remained cordoned off, adding the district authorities will take a call on lifting the cordon after consulting other departments and agencies.
The authorities on Sunday cordoned off the area in the wake of the gas leak incident.
After the tragedy struck the area, several residents left their homes and moved to their relatives’ houses. But many of them have now started to come back but they are yet to recover from the shock.
Luv Kush, who hails from Bihar and runs a grocery shop in Giaspura, said he was still scared.
He lamented that it was still not clear how this incident happened, demanding that authorities take appropriate steps so that such tragic incidents do not reoccur.
Sachin, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, recalled the fateful day and said he ran towards a “safe area” when the toxic gas spread in the locality.
Punjab Police on Monday set up a special team to investigate the incident. Teams of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) were also probing the cause behind the gas leak and have mapped the industries in the area to check the inlet and outlet of their water.
Officials earlier said the poisonous gas might have been released after some chemical was disposed of in the sewerage.
The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday asked the Ludhiana district magistrate to give Rs 20 lakh each to the families of those who died in Giaspura. The Punjab government has already announced Rs 2 lakh compensation each for the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those who took ill.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring along with former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu visited Giaspura locality and met the families and relatives of victims on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Warring demanded a high-level probe into the gas leak incident and also sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased.
Warring said he has never heard of an incident in which poisonous gas from a sewer claimed so many lives. He demanded that whoever is found guilty in this incident should be booked for murder.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered and police have registered an FIR under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against unidentified persons.
The incident came to light on Sunday morning when some people, who had come to a grocery store in Giaspura, fainted. Four died on the spot, while others were rushed to a hospital.
All the 11 deceased belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Giaspura has a very high migrant population. Several industrial and residential buildings are located there.
Among the dead are three members of the family that owned the store and five from another. PTI COR CHS SUN ABH ABH
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