Howrah (WB): A day after several people fell ill by inhaling suspected chlorine gas which leaked from a scrap yard in the Belur area of Howrah district of Bengal, police are still looking for leads to identify those responsible for the hazardous leak.
The gas leak occurred from one of the many cylinders which were being cut at the scrap yard for recycling. A case of negligence has been initiated against the owner of the scrap yard and a forensic investigation has been ordered into the incident.
On Monday morning, labourers at the scrap yard complained of severe breathlessness and headaches following which they were rushed to the adjacent TL Jaiswal Hospital. Other than the scarp yard workers, many people in the locality were also affected.
The district's chief medical officer of health, Bhavani Das, said, "Around 70 people were rushed to hospital. Some were released after initial check-up while 38 people were admitted and had to be administered with oxygen."
What has raised an alarm among environmentalists is that the leaking gas cylinder was dumped into the Hooghly river, a tributary of the Ganges, by fire brigade officials, who were called in to control the situation.
Efforts are now being made to retrieve the cylinder from the river. The mindless act has raised serious concerns about the danger it poses to aquatic life and bio-diversity in the midst of apprehensions that a large quantity of chlorine gas may have already leaked into the river.
Environmentalist Subhash Dutta said, "According to the Ganga Action Plan 1984, there should be efforts to clean the Ganges. Dumping the cylinder in the river is against the environmental norms and directives of the Calcutta High Court. I will file a complaint against the authorities concerned who took the decision to dump the cylinder in the Ganges."
Dutta suggested that the cylinder could have been disposed in a pond nearby and later the water body could have been cured of impurities.
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