BENGALURU: Panic gripped people and tears gushed from the eyes of many commuters on Mysore Road on Friday morning as tear gas emanating from the City Armed Reserve grounds engulfed a section of the road. This caused disturbance and tension in front of the CAR grounds and near Sirsi Circle.
While photographs available with Express indicate that the canisters fired had expired March 2016, CAR officials dismissed the claim stating that such canisters were fired during practice. “The expiry date is for personnel to use the canister,” they reasoned.
According to Fire and Safety Services personnel, around 8.30 am the armoury personnel of CAR were firing a few of the tear gas shell and grenades as part of a practice drill. A total of 12 tear gas canisters were fired. The gas released from the canisters drifted towards Mysore Road, affecting commuters and resulting in a panic situation. The Fire and Emergency Services was alerted as it was initially suspected that the the smoke may be due to a leakage from a nearby factory. Traffic on Mysore Road was affected for at least 30 minutes after the incident.
According to CAR sources, such practice is usually held in an open area, preferably outside the city. However, this was being done from long time at the CAR premises itself. The officials said that due to a breeze, the smoke moved towards Mysore Road. The situation came under control in a few minutes, an official added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Admin) Bhushan G Borase, who also holds additional charge as DCP-CAR, said, “It is a routine drill to give the personnel experience in using the canisters during real situations. A tear gas shell or grenade has a life of seven years from its manufacturing date. The ones that were fired were three years old.” “The canister gets diluted very quickly and its life shell is very small. I did not get complaints about the chemical affecting commuters. I will speak to the CAR personnel in this regard and will take necessary steps,” he added.
Earlier, CAR officials had stated that the smoke had spread during an exercise to destroy expired canisters.
Residents and commuters on Mysore Road panicked after they realised that the smoke was causing a burning sensation in the eye. Nobody had any idea that tear gas shells had been fired.
Rajgopal, a commuter, said, “As there was fog in the morning, many like me failed to notice the difference between smoke and fog. I was shocked when I started feeling a burning sensation in my eyes. I stopped my vehicle and later, some police personnel came to my help. But by then, traffic was affected and most of them, who were heading to work were in tears due to burning sensation,” he said.