Late on Saturday night, residents of Ghatkopar, Chembur, Govandi, Powai, and Kanjurmarg had complained of a foul odour generated from an unknown source similar to that of a gas leak. While the fire brigade was quick to jump into action and determine the cause of the leak, it has now emerged that they have handed over the investigation of the gas leak to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
The Mumbai Fire Brigade were quick to arrive at the location at the wee hours on Sunday morning but were unable to determine the origin of the gas leak. It was initially believed that the source was a pharmaceutical industry in the area, although investigations revealed that it wasn’t the case.
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Additionally, the authorities alerted large-scale industries situated in Chembur and Mahul such as MGL (Mahanagar Gas Ltd), BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited), HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited), and RCF (Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers). However, it was later revealed that they found no gas leaks in their establishments either. Taking this into consideration, the BMC has wisely decided to hand over the investigation to the state pollution control board.
Pundalik Mirashe, Assistant Secretary of the MPCB said - “It appears to be a mobile van or tanker and not any permanent source. It is tricky to track the source in such a scenario. None of the five monitoring stations installed in Chembur and Mahul village showed any peak in the level of hazardous gas. We have also stationed teams in Chembur as maximum complaints came from there.”
This is not the first time that a source of the gas leak wasn’t established. In September 2019, a similar incident came to light when residents of Powai, Ghatkopar, Vile Parle, Goregaon East, and Andheri complained of a gas leak. However, the source of the alleged leak was not established.
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