Eleven people died and many others fell ill today due to a gas leak at Gyaspura in Punjab’s Ludhiana district. All the victims are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the accident and an FIR has been registered against unknown persons.
The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each of the deceased. 50-50 thousand rupees will be given to seriously ill people. All the victims will be treated free of cost. State Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh, after visiting the accident site and civil hospital, said that four people admitted in the hospital are out of danger. He said that strict action will be taken against those responsible for this tragedy.
The National Disaster Response Force has detected through air quality sensors that the accident could have happened due to the leakage of hydrogen sulphide gas. The incident came to light at 7 am on Sunday when some people who had come to buy milk at Goyal Kirana Store started fainting. On seeing it, the shopkeeper Sourav Goyal started having difficulty in breathing. After this there was noise, his brother Gaurav Goyal and other family members also came down. As everyone came down, they fainted.
