Ludhiana gas leak: Clean chit to factory, sewage gases blamed for deaths

The cause of deaths in the Ludhiana gas leak has been found as the sewage gases for which there was no ventilation at the spot in Giaspura area in the city. A two page report was submitted after completion of a magisterial enquiry by Ludhiana DCP.

Ludhiana (Punjab) : Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Surbhi Malik handed over a two-page report of magisterial level investigation into the Giaspura gas leak case to the Punjab government. In what is currently described as a preliminary investigation, the report has given the factory a clean chit and hydrogen sulphide gas has been blamed for the deaths of 11 people, sources said.

According to the sources, there is no confirmation in the report that any kind of waste or chemical is being thrown into the sewage by any factory in the area. Finally, it was said that no one is responsible for the death of 11 people. Ludhiana police had registered a case against unknown persons in this case.

Instructions were issued to investigate the matter at the magistrate's level. Even a separate SIT was constituted by the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana. What the leaders of the opposition were saying finally happened. Despite the death of 11 people in the Ludhiana gas incident, responsibility is not fixed on anyone yet. The cause of death has been named as hydrogen sulphide gas. The accident occurred due to lack of ventilation for the sewage gas.

There are a large number of factories in the vicinity of the area where the accident took place and the opposition leaders also alleged that the effluents of the factories were mixed with the domestic sewage. Nothing has been revealed in the investigation either. In the report, it is said that this accident happened due to non-ventilation of sewage gas.

As a rule, it is necessary to build chimneys within a radius of one kilometer for the gas to escape. But due to the lack of chimneys, the gas accumulated and leaked into people's houses, causing deaths. Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu wrote a letter to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), and demanded an inquiry into it and action on the factories. However, taking cognizance of this matter in advance, the NGT also conducted a hearing on this matter. A demand also emerged to increase the amount of compensation to the family members of the deceased in the accident.