Civic employee hospitalised after inhaling chlorine gas at water filtration plant in Bhopal

On October 24, a 900 kg chlorine cylinder leaked at the plant under Shahjahanabad police station area, following which seven people fell ill.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)

BHOPAL: A civic employee fell ill after inhaling chlorine gas at the same water filtration plant where the gas leaked last week affecting seven people in Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal, an official said.

Last week, seven people fell sick after chlorine gas leaked from a 900 kg cylinder at the water treatment plant of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) at the Idgah Hills.

Talking to PTI, Bhopal Municipal Commissioner KVS Choudhary said an employee fell sick after inhaling the gas while linking a chlorine pipeline at the plant.

The affected person is being treated and his condition was normal, he said.

"There was no leakage at the filter plant. The areas around the plant are completely safe in Shahjanabad," the official said.

"No leakage has been reported to us. We have come to know that one staffer of the BMC has fallen sick after inhaling the gas while working at the plant," Shahjanabad assistant commissioner of police Umesh Tiwari confirmed to PTI.

On October 24, a 900 kg chlorine cylinder leaked at the plant under Shahjahanabad police station area, following which seven people fell ill.

Seven people living in slums near the plant had complained of some health issues, and were shifted to a hospital and discharged after a few hours, officials said.

After the gas leak five days ago, some people complained of breathing difficulties, coughing and vomiting due to the foul smell, they said.

According to the police, after the gas leak was noticed, the cylinder was thrown in the water at the filtration plant and the snag was fixed.

The BMC's filtration plant is surrounded by human settlements, especially slums.

The incident last week brought back grim memories of the Bhopal gas tragedy, in which thousands of people were killed and more than five lakh affected after inhaling a toxic gas that spewed out from the now defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984.

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