Chlorine gas leakage hits Dehradun’s Jhajra area

Officials said that people in surrounding areas were asked to keep their windows and doors closed to lessen the impact of the gas

Dehradun’s Jhajra area witnessed Chlorine gas leakage from one of the cylinders kept in an empty plot of a resident on Tuesday, after which people in surrounding areas were asked to keep their windows and doors closed to lessen the impact of the gas, said officials.

During the process of stopping the leakage, two men from fire services complained of dizziness and a burning sensation in their eyes.

Ajaii Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP) said six big cylinders of Chlorine had been kept in an empty plot of an Agra-based resident in the Jhajra area. “Out of these six, gas started leaking from one cylinder in the wee hours on Tuesday. There is a residential complex at some distance from that place. Immediately teams of local police, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) fire services and experts of CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) unit reached the spot from Jolly Grant with the necessary equipment”.

Jhajra is around 15 kms from Dehradun

Singh said during the process of stopping the leakage, two men from fire services complained of dizziness and a burning sensation in their eyes due to which they were hospitalised and later discharged after treatment.

Negi said that as coming in contact with Chlorine gas leakage causes dizziness, burning sensation in the face and eyes, difficulty in breathing, vomiting and headache, people living in the surrounding areas were asked to close their windows and doors. “Had it been summer, with ACs and coolers on, the gas would have affected more people inside the houses,”he said

Singh said in the preliminary investigation, it has come to light that the plot belongs to an Agra based resident. “He has been contacted to remove the five heavy Chlorine cylinders from the plot. An FIR will also be filed against him,” he said.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the incident, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has given instructions to the officials concerned to effectively check such incidents. He has directed the officials of the Industry and Labour Department to exercise special caution with regard to such matters. The chief minister has directed them to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the industrial areas of the state in future.

The CM also issued directions to the officials to investigate the storage of such harmful gases at residential places in the state. He said that recurrence of such cases can be prevented only by being alert at all times.

This is not the first such incident has happened in the state. In March 2022, a gas leakage incident occurred at Haridwar-based plant of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Four personnel working at the Central Foundry Forge Plant of BHEL Ranipur unit were affected by carbon dioxide gas leakage from the plant. In August of the same year, a gas leakage incident was reported in the Transit camp area of US Nagar. Around three dozen people, including officers, fell ill and were hospitalised after it spread from a cylinder. The gas leakage took place from a cylinder which was stored in a scrap dealer’s godown.

In September 2022, six workers of a factory were admitted to hospital after they reported difficulty in breathing and ill health owing to gas leakage at a drug factory in Haridwar. The incident occurred when a sealed drum was being opened but accidentally the gas leaked leading to the workers facing discomfort. In April last year, four children were killed when an LPG gas cylinder leaked gas, which caught fire and exploded inside a three-storey house largely made of wood in Dehradun’s Tyuni area.