Kolkata, Jan 1 (IANS) Fresh emission of ammonia gas from a West Bengal ice factory where one person was killed and 20 fell ill after inhaling poisonous gas a day ago triggered panic, leading to an angry demonstration by locals who demanded that the unit be closed, police said Saturday.
‘Two fire tenders were pressed into service to cool down the ammonia gas. One person fell ill,’ Barrackpore Sub-divisional Police Officer Ajoy Pal said.
‘Experts from fire and emergency services department yesterday (Friday) sealed the leaking cylinder and assured there will be no further leakage. But since today (Saturday) morning, gas has started leaking from the unit again,’ he said.
‘We have cordoned off the area and blocked a part of the Barrackpore-Barasat highway,’ he added.
Local residents put up a road block and demanded the closure of the factory in North 24 Parganas district. District administration officials and police officers managed to pacify them after much effort.
Experts from the state Pollution Control Board (PCB) and fire services department will look into the reason for the fresh leakage, Pal said.
The PCB team, after inspecting the factory in Barrackpore, decided to issue a closure notice as the unit has released ammonia gas into the atmosphere beyond the permissible limit which has caused a death.
‘We have to find out whether the factory has the PCB clearance. The factory has to be closed. And we will file a case against the owner,’ PCB law officer Biswajit Mukherjee said.
The owners of the factory and the factory inspector, appointed by the state factory directorate to monitor the status of the unit, are absconding, police said.
