KOCHI: Kochi woke up on Tuesday to the frightening news of a Piped Natural Gas (PNG) leak at Palachuvadu in Kakkanad and the subsequent fire outbreak. Though the flames, which went as high as 50 metres, were doused in 30 minutes, the leakage lasted for several hours, triggering panic among residents.
The incident occurred when workers assigned by the KSEB to lay underground cables cut through the PNG pipeline. A glaring error on the part of authorities, the incident throws up a question on how safe underground cables are, including the KSEB's high voltage ones apart from the PNG.
Though the KSEB had informed the Indian Oil Adani Gas Private Ltd (IOAGPL) before digging the road, sources said there was no official present when the incident happened. According to IOAGPL deputy general manager Ajay Pillai, they had clearly mentioned the areas through which the gas pipeline passes. "The pipe itself is 16 mm thick and there is a warning mat above it which clearly specifies the existence of the pipeline. We think the workers may have used the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method without supervision," said Ajay.
However, KSEB officials said they were vigilant and the area they dug was supposedly away from the pipeline. "As per what IOAGPL mentioned, the pipeline was on the other side but they didn't mention that it crossed into the area," said Transgrid executive engineer Shaji.
He added the IOAGPL officials had conducted regular inspections on the area and the digging was done as per regulations.
Need for utility meetings
According to sources, since Piped Natural Gas is a new phenomenon in Kerala, they aren't really given much attention while laying utility services, till recently. According to KSEB officials, they had conducted regular meetings before the project to lay UG cables at Kakkanad was undertaken. "But, this incident has prompted us to be more vigilant. Piped Gas was something we never worried much in the past while laying or shifting utilities," said Shaji.
Ajay thinks holding routine meetings in this regard is the need of the hour. "We had anticipated something of this kind would happen. Unlike other UG cables, the ones on electricity and gas pipes can be really disastrous. For the same reason, we had approached the top officials in the state and district seeking mandatory conduct of utility coordination meet every week or month," he said.
Report to be submitted soon
In the wake of the incident, the District Collector has sought a report from the Fire and Safety Department. According to District Fire Officer Jojy A S, the department has started an investigation into the issue. "From what we know, there was a glaring miscommunication on the part of IOAGPL and KSEB. The workers didn't pay attention to the mapping and warning mats. We will be submitting a report in this direction by next week," said Jojy.
Utility meetings need of the hour
IOAGPL has been batting for regular conduct of utility coordination meetings
The KSEB officers said they would be more vigilant in the days to come