Villagers in Dhanbad protest and burnt tyres demanding action be taken after the two deaths due to an alleged poisonous gas leak. Photo: ANI video grab
Jharkhand: 2 women dead, 12 hospitalised after 'poisonous' gas leak from coal mines
Bharat Coking Coal says it will evict people from 'danger zones' the death of 2 women due to suspected carbon monoxide leak from underground mines
At least two women died and more than a dozen others were hospitalised due to a 'poisonous gas leak' in Jharkhand’s Kenduadih area of Dhanbad district, according to reports.
Protests have since erupted as authorities search for the source and cause of the leak.
ANI reported that deaths of Priyanka Devi and Lalita Devi, one on Wednesday (December 3) evening and the other on early Thursday, have heightened fear among residents. While locals blame ‘gas exposure,’ officials say the exact cause will be determined only after post-mortem reports are released.
Twelve people have also fallen sick after “carbon monoxide” leaked from such mines in different places of Kenduadih Basti in the district, said the officials.
Villagers protest
Tensions flared on Thursday morning as villagers blocked the Dhanbad–Ranchi highway, set tyres ablaze, and demanded immediate relocation. The protest lasted nearly four hours before talks between locals and the administration eased tempers.
A local resident Pradeep Kumar Thakur told ANI that the woman who died on Thursday had begun foaming at the mouth. ‘When taken to the hospital, doctors said the death was likely caused by gas exposure and suffocation,’ he said.
Further, he said 15 to 20 people are sick.
Pramod Pandey, Kenduadih police station in-charge confirmed that two people have died due to gas, while action is being taken to prevent further loss of life and property.
Eviction to safer places
After this incident, the Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) started evicting people from the “danger zones”, said officials. Over 1,000 residents in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district will be shifted to safer locations, after the incident of a "poisonous gas leak" from underground mines, officials said on Thursday.
The company also pasted notices on walls of houses in the locality, asking people to vacate at the earliest, an official said.
BCCL's Putki-Balihati Colliery Area GM G C Saha told reporters that three ambulances have been kept on stand-by in the basti to deal with any emergency situation.
“The company is making arrangments to shift the residents to safer places. For safety of life and property, we have already requested them to leave the dangerous zone,” Saha said.
BCCL teams are continuously appealing to people to relocate through microphones.
Two tents have been set up to prevent people from being exposed to the gas, said BCCL's PB (Putki Balihari) area general manager G Saha. "The area is fire-prone and has been declared unsafe for years, yet people have not moved," he stressed, adding that a permanent solution to the problem is possible only if the entire area is evacuated.
Meanwhile, ANI reported that former Dhanbad mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal also questioned why the BCCL declared several areas unsafe but failed to provide suitable housing options. He demanded an immediate solution by convening a meeting of expert institutions.