Posted 06 Feb 2017
PNG (piped natural gas) pipeline burst on Saturday, leading to a heavy leakage of cooking fuel and putting the lives of over 2,000 people in danger. Excavation by diggers burst the pipeline, which runs underground through the Riverview area of Lucknow, affecting people living in the surrounding 5-6 apartment blocks.
Chief fire station officer Shesh Nath Yadav said: "We got an alert around 12.55 pm and our vehicle got there in 10 minutes. Fortunately, no fire broke out. We had also alerted the Green Gas Limited (GGL) (the company in charge of supplying PNG to the city) to fix the pipe."
The pipe was fixed in around 90 minutes, whilst the occupants of the surrounding apartment blocks were evacuated to a safe distance. One resident reported: "We were being assured the leakage would be fixed in a few minutes. But it took close to two hours. It was so suffocating to stand that many had to leave the area."
The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has ordered an investigation into what exactly damaged the pipeline, and who was responsible. The LDA vice chairman, Satyendra Singh, said: "We have ordered a probe into the accident and culprits would be punished."