When Jaswinder Kaur (58) and her husband Manjeet Singh (60), turned in for the night on Friday, little did they know that a nightmare would soon unfold, charring their lives forever. The couple had laid out their beds — 6 ft x 3ft cots with iron frame and knitted with nylon belt — in the courtyard of their house , about 35 metres from the Jalandhar–Hoshiarpur highway.
At about 10pm on Friday, an LPG tanker blew up on the highway following an accident. The resultant searing heat melted the cots, leaving the couple, residents of Mandiala village, with 80% burn injuries. The blast also left three people dead and another 22 injured — six of them critically.
As the gas leaked from the LPG taker, the fire spread. Around 30 shops on a 100-metre stretch — from grocery and medicine stores to tent houses, boutiques fruit and vegetable stalls, and an architect’s office — in the Mandiala market were gutted. The market that sustained around 60-70 families, now lies in ruins.
“What was once a lifeline for villagers, has been turned into rubble, pushing shopkeepers into sudden joblessness and forcing families to rebuild their lives from scratch,” said village Sarpanch Sukhwant Singh.
As per the police, the accident took place when the LPG tanker, coming from a nearby HP Gas bottling plant, collided with a Bolero pick-up on the highway. The tanker was on the wrong side of the road. The resultant blast was so powerful that people in nearby shops and houses got no time to react.
On hearing the loud explosion, many villagers thought Pakistan had fired a missile. An Indian Air Force team along with fire tenders reached the blast site within 10-15 minutes.
Jaswinder and Manjeet had been living alone after marrying off their three daughters. Their only son works in Hyderabad with a transport company. The couple depended on Manjeet’s meagre earnings from driving an autorickshaw,
“They have no one to take care of them in this condition,” said a neighbour, recalling how villagers watched in fear as flames rose 200 to 250 feet high.
Balwant Rai (50), from the adjoining village Dhaha was sleeping in a room above his son’s pharmacy. He died at the spot. The pharmacy was reduced to ashes and rubble. “Everything is gone. His father, his shop and his livelihood,” said a relative.
Raghav (20), who sustained burn injuries, said: “As soon as the tanker overturned, there was such a powerful explosion, it felt like a bomb had gone off. Gas began leaking, and before anyone could understand what was happening, fire broke out. The flames spread so quickly that in just seconds nearby houses and shops were engulfed. Six members of my family suffered burns”.
At the scene, walls of several shops collapsed, while shutters of others were flung into the air.
“Explosions followed one after another as fire spread through the market and adjoining homes,” said Sarpanch.
Mandiala is home to 1,500 people. The highway passes through the village. A major portion of village is located on the opposite side of the 4-lane NH stretch where the blast took place.
“For 10–15 minutes, we thought we were under some kind of attack,” said Sukhwinder Singh, a villager.
The police have so far identified the deceased as tanker driver Sukhjeet Singh (50) and Mandiala residents Balwant Rai and Dharminder Verma (28). The injured have been shifted to Civil Hospital in Hoshiarpur, private facilities, while some were referred to PGI, Chandigarh. The occupants of the Bolero pick-up remain untraced.
Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain and Cabinet Minister Dr Ravjot Singh visited the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Saturday announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those who died in the incident and free medical treatment for the injured. The villagers, however, rejected the announcement as inadequate and demanded monetary compensation for the injured too.
“The injured need medicines, proper diet, long treatment. Who will pay for all that after they are discharge from the hospital,” asked Kishan Singh, who two newly built shops were gutted in the fire.
Kulwant Kaur’s new sewing machines, which she had purchased only last week only and her boutique were are also gutted. Already under a debt of Rs 5 lakh, she said she will now have to take additional loan to carry out repairs.
The district administration deployed revenue teams to assess the damage. The shopkeepers, however, said they need immediate financial help. “We have no savings. How do we feed our families,” asked Jasvinder Singh. The fire turned into ashes the entire inventory of tyres at his store.
Earlier in the day, several residents of Mandiala and adjoining villages staged a dharna and blocked vehicular traffic for over three-and-a-half hours on both sides of the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar road, demanding compensation and action against those responsible. The sarpanch said there should be fire brigades vehicles placed at the gas plant for immediate action.
The protest was lifted only after Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Gursimranjeet Kaur reached the spot and assured agitators that compensation would be provided and action would be taken against those found responsible.
Deputy Commissioner Jain said the affected highway stretch was immediately sealed to prevent further incidents, while a State Disaster Response Force team was deployed to monitor the situation continuously. She also instructed Nasrala Depot officials to conduct detailed checks for any traces of gas leakage.
Hoshiarpur SP Major Singh said that an FIR has been registered under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 324(4) (mischief causing damage to property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police investigations revealed that the pickup had collided with the nozzles located under the LPG tanker. The nozzles, which are meant to control the gas, were damaged. This caused gas leakage, which then caught fire. The pickup was completely gutted in the blaze, said SP.
Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria expressed grief over the explosion. In a message, the Governor said, “I am deeply pained to learn about the tragedy that has taken away innocent lives and caused injuries to many”.
Terming the incident “deeply unfortunate”, Cabinet Minister Dr Ravjot Singh, MLA Bram Shanker Jimpa, MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal, and Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain expressed solidarity with the affected families and said the government stood firmly by their side.
Punjab Congress chief and MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, accompanied by MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, also visited the hospital. Warring demanded a thorough probe into allegations that the tanker was being diverted for illegal gas refilling. He said families who lost loved ones should receive at least Rs 1 crore in relief, along with full compensation for damaged houses and shops.
BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna and former MLA Mohinder Kaur Josh also visited the hospital to enquire about the well-being of the injured.
Terming the incident "deeply unfortunate", Cabinet Minister Dr Ravjot Singh, MLA Bram Shanker Jimpa, MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal, and Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain expressed solidarity with the affected families and said the government stood firmly by their side.
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