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Month after LPG tanker blast, Mandiala victims struggle to rebuild life
Though the government has released compensation for kin of the deceased, the assessment of damage to property is still going on.
A month after an LPG tanker blast claimed seven lives and damaged multiple shops and residences in Mandiala village, residents are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
Though the government has released compensation for kin of the deceased, the assessment of damage to property is still going on.
Dilbir Singh, a truck driver, who lost both his parents in the massive fire that engulfed their house after the blast, reveals that for days on, he was not able to move the cots on which his parents died. “Just the sight of those charred cots was traumatising – a constant reminder of how they were burnt alive,” he says. Grieving, Dilbir is trying to clean up the house as he has nowhere else to go.
Another resident, Jagdish Chander, whose father was burnt alive while sleeping on the top floor of his medical store, says it’s not easy but he is trying to rebuild the shop which had perished in the blast.
Brothers Gurmukh Singh and Jaswinder Singh are also struggling to clear the rubble their shops were reduced to, hoping to restart work. Gurmukh, who had sustained critical burn injuries and remained hospitalised for several days, says, “Even now, as night befalls, memories of the tragedy resurface.”
No headway in probe
Soon after the incident, police arrested four persons who they claimed were trying to pilfer the gas from the tanker, which burst into flames after being hit by a pick-up truck. Probe is on to ascertain if contractors or officials of the LPG agency were involved in the pilferage racket. The driver of the tanker, who could reveal the modus operandi, was killed in the mishap.
Deputy commissioner Aashika Jain had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident but there has not been much headway. “Acting as per law, we informed the chief controller of explosives of petroleum and explosives safety organisation about the blast. We are awaiting a response from their office. The presence of their representative is mandatory for investigation,” she said.
