A meeting of all important agencies was held at the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday to discuss complaints raised by citizens over a suspicious gas leak in the city last month.
The BMC has directed the fire brigade to procure gas detector balloons and similar equipment to determine the presence of pollutants in the air. The equipment will be installed in all BMC ward offices, fire stations and engines. The BMC has directed agencies that transport hazardous chemicals to install vehicle tracking systems in all vehicles carrying toxic or hazardous material. The drivers of such vehicles will have to be trained in disaster management as well.
On September 19, several Mumbaikars in the eastern and western suburbs reported that they experienced a strong odour emanating from their surroundings around 11 p.m. Most people checked for an LPG leak at their homes and complained to the police, the disaster management cell and the fire brigade when the smell persisted. Nine fire engines and a Hazmat vehicle were pressed into action and teams from the Mahanagar Gas Limited were deployed following the complaints. However, the source of the odour could not be found.
Friday’s meeting was attended by representatives from the BMC, the National Disaster Response Force, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Rashtriya Chemical Fertilisers, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, and experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.
A senior civic official said, “We have not been able to find out the source of the odour, the type of gas or what caused it. We will be issuing a notice to all these agencies with the measures that need to be taken to prevent such incidents.”
