Gas still leaking from cold storage plant in Kolkata

The leaking valves of the cold storage, which emitted ammonia gas affecting about 3000 people in Nager Bazar area in the northern outskirts of the city, were yet to be fully plugged this morning.

People in the area are still in a state of panic even 12 hours after the gas leak started, officials said.

More than 70 people fell ill after inhaling the gas which leaked from the cold storage.

Residents in the area complained that the administration was indifferent to the situation as it is yet to despatch a technical team to the area where some amount of ammonia gas was still leaking.

Nearly 300 firemen have been deployed to monitor the situation.

A BSF disaster response team was summoned late last night to control the situation. Police said a disaster was averted with the arrival of the border guards but a little amount of gas is still leaking which needs speedy arrival of technical area.

The BSF team was able to turn off all the three valves to plug the leak. A little quantity of gas has still be leaking, firemen said.

Nearly 3000 residents of Nager Bazar-Satgachi area were affected by the gas leak and at least 70 of them fell ill. Some of them were rushed to a nearby nursing home.

Angry at the late response of the administration, some of the residents demanded that the cold storage be dismantled immediately and no such hazardous factory be allowed to function from a thickly-populated areas like this place.

The situation in the area which remained cordoned off by the police did not allow the people to go near the cold storage, eased considerably this morning with normal flow of traffic on the road this morning. But the residents were cautious during movement with wet handkerchiefs covering their face.