Tughlakabad residents live in fear of a repeat gas leak

Ashok Kumar, 47, has been walking to every corner of the Railway Colony in Tughlakabad daily since 1998. Kumar sells vegetables and was one of the few who first noticed the May 6 gas leak that affected over 450 students.

The students had to be rushed to hospital after a gas leak from a nearby Inland Container Depot left some of them unconscious and others fighting with nausea and irritation in eyes. The toxic fumes spread over the entire area, with two schools located in the vicinity being affected the most.

A five-member expert team from AIIMS, which visited the spot, has said the residents in the area were living on a ticking bomb. The team was formed after Union Minister JP Nadda alerted all the Central government hospitals.

The residents, meanwhile, have been living in the shadow of fear. “Anything can happen any day. Even that day, suddenly we started to feel an itch in our eyes,” said Kumar, who hails from Bihar.

“This is very scary. I have not sent my daughter to school since the incident. She is also scared. Her eyes still itch,” Railway Colony resident Meenakshi said.

On Monday, the Delhi Police had issued notices to various parties involved to …read more