Jharkhand: Two women killed in Kenduadih gas leak; angry residents halt traffic on Dhanbad-Ranchi artery

Dhanbad (Jharkhand) [India], December 4 (ANI): Tension gripped the Kenduadih area in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Thursday after a gas leak claimed the lives of two women, triggering massive outrage among residents.
Enraged villagers blocked the Dhanbad-Ranchi main road and set tyres ablaze, accusing the district administration and BCCL management of negligence and demanding immediate action.
G. Saha, General Manager, PB Area, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) said, "Don't stay in such a place. Constant exposure to gas can damage the body... We are doing whatever work is necessary on this... This settlement was built after the earlier mining work... This is a fire-prone area, and we have been declaring it unsafe for years....."
Station in-charge, Kenduadih, Pramod Pandey said that efforts are underway to stop the gas leak as soon as possible, with all arrangements in place to provide medical facilities and other services to the needy people.
"...We took the BCCL gas detector team to each house and checked all the nearby areas... We made announcements everywhere to create awareness... The medical team is engaged. The district administration is involved.... Efforts are underway to stop this as soon as possible. We have made arrangements at the police station to provide all medical facilities, including ambulances and other services," Pandey said.
Earlier in November, in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district, two people reportedly died while several others were admitted to the hospital due to a toxic gas leak.
According to the police, a four-member family was living in a rented ground-floor house in Pritam Vihar colony, under the jurisdiction of Gola Ka Mandir police station in the district. The landlord kept some wheat along with pesticide tablets near their room, and late at night, poisonous gas was released from it, leaving all four family members unconscious.
A four-year-old boy died on the same day, while a 15-year-old girl died while undergoing treatment two days later. Upon receiving the information, the police, along with a team of experts, began an investigation, removed the toxic substance and sealed the house. Additionally, the police also registered a case against the house owner and arrested him. (ANI)