Ludhiana gas leak: Amid disaster, fingers pointed at pollution board, civic body

“There are several possibilities that may lead to high concentration of Hydrogen Sulphide. It indicates that sewerage system was not cleaned properly due to which the gas formation continued. There were no vents within the sewerage system to let the gasses escape,” said a senior PPCB official, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh Bains said, “A broken manhole has been found in the area and there was a strong smell emanating from it. There is a possibility that some chemical has been poured into the sewerage from that point”.

An FIR registered in the case also mentions that it is suspected “that some unknown persons dumped industrial waste into sewage which led to a chemical reaction and toxic gas was produced which leaked from a broken manhole and affected persons in houses and shops located nearby”.

Jaspal Singh Giaspura, Councillor from Ward No 30 where the incident occurred, meanwhile emphasized on the need to probe discharge of industrial effluent in the sewerage system. “During previous Congress government, I had written 11 times to then chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to get the sewerage manholes checked. I also wrote eight times to the PPCB officials. After the AAP formed government last year, I continued to raise the this issue in the municipal corporation general house. But neither the civic body nor the pollution control board acted against the industries such as dyeing units and nickel units that discharge their effluents directly in sewer.,” said Jaspal Singh.
He added, “Normally industries released untreated water in the residential sewer lines on Saturdays and Sundays.”
Reached for comments, Sandeep Bahl, chief engineer at PPCB’s Ludhiana unit, said an inquiry has been marked into the entire episode. “The area has been cordoned off. We will study all factors. There is no point in jumping to any conclusions”.

He said that the nearest factory from the spot where the incident took place is 100 meters away. “It is bicycle chain manufacturing unit. But it is lying closed”.

The officials, meanwhile, collected samples from four different manholes in the area. The PPCB, municipal corporation, and the National Disaster Response Force teams will be getting their samples tested independently to study presence of chemicals .

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner (DC) Surabhi Malik said that a process to decontaminate the sewer lines has been launched and area in one kilometer radius is being checked. As a precaution, the area will be cordoned for at least 24 hours, she said and added that more sensors are being brought to check the air quality.

Jaskirat Singh, a chemical engineer and a member of public action committee working to clean the polluted Buddha Nullah, said, “It needs to be checked whether the existing sewerage pipelines were adequate to handle the load of that area”.

He also alleged that Chief Secretary VK Janjua was in Ludhiana to inspect the Buddha Nullah on April 28. “We have evidence that industries had held up their effluents for two days, which they released last night,” he added.
Asked about it, Bahl said all angles will be investigated,