From The Times Of India
Jan 25, 2011
KOLKATA: This is how our administration tackles a disaster. The first firefighters to respond to the gas leak in Nagerbazar on Sunday evening forgot to take their breathing gear. It took four hours for officers to realise that it was beyond them and that BSF's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) should be informed.
The BSF team responded immediately but was caught in a traffic jam on Jessore Road no one had thought of clearing a lane for them. NDRF officers say they could have contained the leak by Sunday night itself had they been informed earlier. The firefighters spent all night pouring water into the ammonia gas tank in the hope of "diluting it". It was pretty much futile. The BSF men managed to plug the leak on Monday morning and the 3,000 people who had been evacuated started trickling back.
About 30 people required medical attention. Till 11am on Monday, a pungent odour hung in a 500-metre radius. Locals spoke of their terror. "We started feeling nauseous. It brought memories of the Bhopal tragedy. All of us had read in the papers of a death in the Barrackpore ammonia leak. We did not know how poisonous the gas was. Women wept as they pulled out valuables and locked their doors before leaving the neighbourhood," said Rajesh Sarkar.
Chief secretary Samar Ghosh admitted on Monday that there was "some problem" in handling the gas leak because of a shortage of firemen. This was the third gas leak in the city since January 1, but clearly no lessons have been learnt.
The BSF's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has contained nearly 95% of the ammonia gas leak in Nagerbazar, Dum Dum, said the battalion's second in command, T K Mandhata.
"It took us some time as the tank is round and slippery. It is set against a wall, making that side inaccessible. We have channelised the remaining 5% of the gas into the atmosphere through the top floor of the building. This will cause no discomfort to residents," said Mandhata.
Nagerbazar residents say they smelt the gas around 4pm on Sunday. Within an hour the situation had turned serious with police and firemen struggling to enter the narrow lanes. It was only around 7.30pm that officials on the spot felt that expert help was required.
The NDRF battalion, based at Digberia in Barasat, is the only unit Kolkata can turn to in a chemical, biological or nuclear crisis.
"As soon as we received the SOS, a 15-member team with protective gear, breathing apparatus, chemical protection fluid and searchlights was scrambled. We reached the spot around 8.30pm. Had we not got caught in the traffic on Jessore Road, we could have got there earlier. When we arrived, there was complete chaos and panic," said Mandhata.
Among those who required medical attention were Pinki Roy (24) and Tinku Shaw (18). They were taken to RG Kar Hospital and administered oxygen.
Fire department officials say the situation would not have been so bad if the cold storage staff had not run away. "There wasn't a single employee to guide us. We had no idea of the layout of the pipelines," said Tapan Kumar Chatterjee, OC of Dum Dum fire station.
The fire department has lodged an FIR against owner Kishore Santania, a resident of Belgachia, and co-owner Nasir Khan. Santania's house was raided but he was not there. "There was no maintenance or checks on the ammonia tanks and cylinders. Fire control measures are also lacking," a fire official said.
According to locals, the cold storage was part of a 30-year-old prawn-processing unit. "Barely six days ago, ammonia had leaked from the cold storage. We informed the police but no action was taken," said Satyabrata Santra, the local Trinamool Congress councillor.
The incident comes within weeks of a gas leak at an ice factory in Barrackpore in which a man died and over 100 fell ill, followed by another on January 10 at a cold storage in Manicktala that led to a major fire.
North 24-Parganas SP Rahul Srivastav said people are returning home and the panic has ebbed. "We are trying to locate the owner of the cold storage. He will be arrested soon. The cold storage will be sealed," he said.
Read more: Gas leak exposes chinks in disaster management - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Gas-leak-exposes-chinks-in-disaster-management/articleshow/7356955.cms#ixzz1C1MRLAzx
Jan 25, 2011
KOLKATA: This is how our administration tackles a disaster. The first firefighters to respond to the gas leak in Nagerbazar on Sunday evening forgot to take their breathing gear. It took four hours for officers to realise that it was beyond them and that BSF's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) should be informed.
The BSF team responded immediately but was caught in a traffic jam on Jessore Road no one had thought of clearing a lane for them. NDRF officers say they could have contained the leak by Sunday night itself had they been informed earlier. The firefighters spent all night pouring water into the ammonia gas tank in the hope of "diluting it". It was pretty much futile. The BSF men managed to plug the leak on Monday morning and the 3,000 people who had been evacuated started trickling back.
About 30 people required medical attention. Till 11am on Monday, a pungent odour hung in a 500-metre radius. Locals spoke of their terror. "We started feeling nauseous. It brought memories of the Bhopal tragedy. All of us had read in the papers of a death in the Barrackpore ammonia leak. We did not know how poisonous the gas was. Women wept as they pulled out valuables and locked their doors before leaving the neighbourhood," said Rajesh Sarkar.
Chief secretary Samar Ghosh admitted on Monday that there was "some problem" in handling the gas leak because of a shortage of firemen. This was the third gas leak in the city since January 1, but clearly no lessons have been learnt.
The BSF's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has contained nearly 95% of the ammonia gas leak in Nagerbazar, Dum Dum, said the battalion's second in command, T K Mandhata.
"It took us some time as the tank is round and slippery. It is set against a wall, making that side inaccessible. We have channelised the remaining 5% of the gas into the atmosphere through the top floor of the building. This will cause no discomfort to residents," said Mandhata.
Nagerbazar residents say they smelt the gas around 4pm on Sunday. Within an hour the situation had turned serious with police and firemen struggling to enter the narrow lanes. It was only around 7.30pm that officials on the spot felt that expert help was required.
The NDRF battalion, based at Digberia in Barasat, is the only unit Kolkata can turn to in a chemical, biological or nuclear crisis.
"As soon as we received the SOS, a 15-member team with protective gear, breathing apparatus, chemical protection fluid and searchlights was scrambled. We reached the spot around 8.30pm. Had we not got caught in the traffic on Jessore Road, we could have got there earlier. When we arrived, there was complete chaos and panic," said Mandhata.
Among those who required medical attention were Pinki Roy (24) and Tinku Shaw (18). They were taken to RG Kar Hospital and administered oxygen.
Fire department officials say the situation would not have been so bad if the cold storage staff had not run away. "There wasn't a single employee to guide us. We had no idea of the layout of the pipelines," said Tapan Kumar Chatterjee, OC of Dum Dum fire station.
The fire department has lodged an FIR against owner Kishore Santania, a resident of Belgachia, and co-owner Nasir Khan. Santania's house was raided but he was not there. "There was no maintenance or checks on the ammonia tanks and cylinders. Fire control measures are also lacking," a fire official said.
According to locals, the cold storage was part of a 30-year-old prawn-processing unit. "Barely six days ago, ammonia had leaked from the cold storage. We informed the police but no action was taken," said Satyabrata Santra, the local Trinamool Congress councillor.
The incident comes within weeks of a gas leak at an ice factory in Barrackpore in which a man died and over 100 fell ill, followed by another on January 10 at a cold storage in Manicktala that led to a major fire.
North 24-Parganas SP Rahul Srivastav said people are returning home and the panic has ebbed. "We are trying to locate the owner of the cold storage. He will be arrested soon. The cold storage will be sealed," he said.
Read more: Gas leak exposes chinks in disaster management - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Gas-leak-exposes-chinks-in-disaster-management/articleshow/7356955.cms#ixzz1C1MRLAzx
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