BENGALURU: A gas pipeline of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) was breached during Namma Metro work early Monday morning, leading to a massive traffic jam on the busy ITPL main road. The breach, according to officials, occurred at around 3.30 am, when the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was carrying out precautionary drilling in the area before beginning the piling work for phase II of Namma Metro.
The Mahadevapura police had registered an FIR. Police said that the contractor allowed the staff to carry out the repair works after the FIR was registered and the issue was sorted out.“Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the spot and around 11.30 am, they brought the situation under control. A fire tender and a team of fire personnel were at the area for a day as a precautionary measure. Following the incident, a private school nearby declared a holiday and asked the students to leave,” a senior police official said.
The KR Puram traffic cordoned off the area and diverted traffic via Marathahalli and Kundalahalli gate. After the flow of gas was stopped, traffic was allowed on this stretch but it quickly led to a massive traffic jam which took a few hours to clear. The use of mobile phones was restricted around a radius of 500 m from the breach. A case has been registered to ascertain if the proper drilling permissions were obtained by the BMRCL.
According to a GAIL Gas official, the pipeline belonged to its parent company GAIL and the flow of gas was stopped as soon as the leak was reported. Ajay Seth, Managing Director of BMRCL, said that the incident occurred during precautionary drilling for Namma Metro work. “We take inputs from agencies about the location of water, power and other utilities on our Metro route and we carry out precautionary drilling up to a depth of 2.5 metres in order to be sure. This breach occurred during this exercise in the night, he said.
NO PERMISSION TAKEN
A statement from GAIL (India) stated: “The gas pipeline has been laid as per the safety standards prescribed norms. Permission is required for undertaking construction work by any agency, but BMRCL didn’t take the permission from GAIL and thus a complaint was also filed regarding the incident at the Mahadevpura Police Station.”
NOT THE FIRST TIME
In a complaint registered on October 23, a GAIL official said, a gas pipeline laid in front of Sathya Sai Hospital near Hoodi was damaged during Namma Metro works, on October 22 night. But the BMRCL contractor Parag was not letting his staff to carry out the repair works. The contractor allegedly asked them to get a permission letter from the BMRCL. The Mahadevapura police had registered an FIR.
TIME LINE
3.30 am Digging operation breaks open the pipeline, locals sense danger
3.45 am A local calls fire and emergency services and alerts them
4am Fire personnel, along with police, rushed to the spot to control situation
6am to 11am Traffic thrown out of gear and cops divert routes for people to reach their workplace
11.30am Situation brought under control